Effect of high energy proton irradiation on InAs/GaAs quantum dots: Enhancement of photoluminescence efficiency (up to ∼7 times) with minimum spectral signature shift

Graphical abstract: Authors demonstrate enhancement in photoluminescence efficiency (7 times) in single layer InAs/GaAs quantum dots using proton irradiation without any post-annealing treatment via either varying proton energy (a) or fluence (b). The increase in PL efficiency is explained by a proposed model before (c) and after irradiation (d). Highlights: → Proton irradiation improved PL efficiency in InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). → Proton irradiation favoured defect and strain annihilation in InAs/GaAs QDs. → Reduction in defects/non-radiative recombination improved PL efficiency. → Protons could be used to improve PL efficiency without spectral shift. → QD based devices will be benefited by this technique to improve device performance. -- Abstract: We demonstrate 7-fold increase of photoluminescence efficiency in GaAs/(InAs/GaAs) quantum dot hetero-structure, employing high energy proton irradiation, without any post-annealing treatment. Protons of energy 3-5 MeV with fluence in the range (1.2-7.04) x 1012 ions/cm2 were used for irradiation. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed crystalline quality of the GaAs cap layer improves on proton irradiation. Photoluminescence study conducted at low temperature and low laser excitation density proved the presence of non-radiative recombination centers in the system which gets eliminated on proton irradiation. Shift in photoluminescence emission towards higher wavelength upon irradiation substantiated the reduction in strain field existed between GaAs cap layer and InAs/GaAs quantum dots. The enhancement in PL efficiency is thus attributed to the annihilation of defects/non-radiative recombination centers present in GaAs cap layer as well as in InAs/GaAs quantum dots induced by proton irradiation.