Highly anisotropic decay rates of single quantum dots in photonic crystal membranes.

We have measured the variation of the spontaneous emission rate with polarization for self-assembled single quantum dots in two-dimensional photonic crystal membranes. We observe a maximum anisotropy factor of 6 between the decay rates of the two bright exciton states. This large anisotropy is attributed to the substantially different projected local density of optical states for differently oriented dipoles in the photonic crystal.

Tailoring of morphology and emission wavelength of AlGaInAs quantum dots.

We present a study of the growth, morphology and optical properties of Al(x)Ga(1-x-y)In(y)As quantum dots (QDs) for a wide range of Al and In concentrations (0≤x≤0.34 and 0.43≤y≤0.60). Short emission wavelengths between 660 and 940 nm and QD surface densities up to 1.1 × 10(11) cm(-2) have been achieved. Our results show that by varying both the Al concentration and the In concentration an independent adjustment of strain and QD band gap is possible. This additional degree of freedom can be employed for tailoring AlGaInAs QDs with the desired emission wavelength, surface density and average size. AlGaInAs QDs thus offer new possibilities for future QD device design.

Adsorption and reaction of SO2 with a polycrystalline UO2 film: promotion of S-O bond cleavage by creation of O-defects and Na or Ca coadsorption.

To characterize UO(2) for its possible use in desulfurization applications, the interactions of molecular sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) with a polycrystalline uranium dioxide film have been studied by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), and low-energy ion scattering (LEIS). The stoichiometric, oxygen-deficient, calcium-precovered and sodium-precovered UO(2) surfaces have been characterized. The changes in oxide reactivity upon creation of oxygen vacancies and coadsorption of sodium and calcium have been studied. After creation of a reduced UO(2-x) surface (x approximately 0.44) via Ar(+) sputtering, the U 4f XPS spectrum shows conspicuous differences that are good indicators of the surface stoichiometry. Molecular SO(x) formation (x = 2-4) is observed after SO(2) deposition onto stoichiometric UO(2) and onto UO(2) precovered with small amounts (<1 ML) of Na or Ca; complete dissociation of SO(2) is not observed. Heating leads to desorption of the SO(x) species and to transformation of SO(2) to SO(3) and SO(3) to SO(4). On oxygen-deficient UO(2) and on UO(2) precovered with large Na or Ca coverages (> or =4 ML), both the formation of SO(x)= species and complete dissociation of SO(2) are observed. A higher thermal stability of the sulfur components is observed on these surfaces. In all cases for which dissociation occurs, the XPS peak of atomic sulfur shows similar structure: three different binding states are observed. The reactivity of oxygen-deficient UO(2) and sodium- and calcium-precovered UO(2) (coverages > or = 4 ML) is attributed to charge transfer into the antibonding LUMO of the adsorbed molecule.