Optical control and determination of charge in self-assembled quantum dots

We present a theory and experiment allowing for optical control of charge in a single InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) in magnetic fields up to 23 T [1]. The charge is controlled by excitation energy and power and is determined by comparing the experimental PL spectra of the QD to the ones calculated for N electrons and one hole using the parabolic confinement and the CI technique for many-carrier states. The number N is determined from the characteristic features in PL [2]. For N=4 electrons in low fields the degenerate p shell is half-filled and the system is in a triplet state. At larger fields the degeneracy is removed and a triplet-singlet transition occurs. This transition is seen as a discontinuity in the magnetic-field dependence of PL lines. In even higher fields, electrons increase their polarization through spin-flip transitions, which also leads to discontinuities of the PL spectra. Also, as the magnetic moment of electrons increases, the electron-hole exchange leads to the appearance of multiple PL lines. [1] A. Babinski et al, Physica E 26, 190 (2005) [2] A. Wojs and P. Hawrylak, Phys. Rev. B 55, 13066 (1997)