The influences of Si sheet doping levels on the properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) are investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photoluminescence (PL). AFM measurements reveal that Si sheet doping doesn't change the morphology of InAs QDs. Conductive AFM exhibits a quick current decrease when the Si doping density reaches 5\times1011cm-2. PL measurements show that the Si doping can significantly enhance the PL intensity. The PL peak intensity of InAs QDs doped to 5\times1011cm-2 is increased about thirty-five times from that of the undoped ones at 300K. The results observed here can be explained by a supposed positive-charged, strain-relaxed Si-doped thin InAs layer inside the InAs QDs.
Geometric phase analysis has been applied to high resolution aberration corrected (scanning) transmission electron microscopy images of InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) materials. We show quantitatively how the lattice mismatch induced strain varies on the atomic scale and tetragonally distorts the lattice in a wide region that extends several nanometers into the GaAs spacer layer below and above the QDs. Finally, we show how V-shaped dislocations originating at the QD/GaAs interface efficiently remove most of the lattice mismatch induced tetragonal distortions in and around the QD.
We derive analytically the change of exciton fine structure splitting (FSS) under the external stresses in the self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots using the Bir-Pikus model. We find that the FSS change is mainly due to the strain induced valence bands mixing and valence-conduction band coupling. The exciton polarization angle under strain are determined by the argument of the electron-hole off-diagonal exchange integrals. The theory agrees well with the empirical pseudopotential calculations.
In this work the intersubband electronic properties of two laterally coupled dome-shaped InAs/GaAs quantum dots were investigated. The envelope functions and eigenenergies were calculated as function of distance between the dots. The coupling between the dots was studied using transition lifetime between the dots. The results showed that in close distances (smaller than 3 nm) the quantum dots are coupled and by increasing the distance transition lifetime fall down drastically and the dots become uncoupled.
This work presents an analysis of the electronic and optical properties of InAs/GaAs columnar quantum dots (QDs) by performing multi-million-atom tight-binding simulations. The plots of the polarisation-dependent ground state optical transition strengths predict that a nearly zero degree of polarisation can be achieved at 1550 nm emission/absorption wavelength by engineering the number of QD layers in a columnar QD. These results are promising for the design of optical devices requiring polarisation insensitive optical response such as semiconductor optical amplifiers.
Using the mechano-optical stress sensor technique, we observe a counter-intuitive reduction of the compressive stress when InAs is deposited on GaAs (001) during growth of quantum posts. Through modelling of the strain fields, we find that such anomalous behaviour can be related to the strain-driven detachment of In atoms from the crystal and their surface diffusion towards the self-assembled nanostructures.
We report significant deviations from the usual quadratic dependence of the ground state interband transition energy on applied electric fields in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots. In particular, we show that conventional second-order perturbation theory fails to correctly describe the Stark shift for electric field below $F = 10$ kV/cm in high dots. Eight-band ${\bf k}\cdot{\bf p}$ calculations demonstrate this effect is predominantly due to the three-dimensional strain field distribution which for various dot shapes and stoichiometric compositions drastically affects the hole ground sta…
The electronic structure of pyramidal shaped InAs/GaAs quantum dots is calculated using an eight-band strain dependent $\bf k\cdot p$ Hamiltonian. The influence of strain on band energies and the conduction-band effective mass are examined. Single particle bound-state energies and exciton binding energies are computed as functions of island size. The eight-band results are compared with those for one, four and six bands, and with results from a one-band approximation in which m(r) is determined by the local value of the strain. The eight-band model predicts a lower ground state energy and a la…
We present a simulation to characterize the dependence on hydrostatic pressure for the photoluminescence spectra in self-assembled quantum dots with lens shape geometry. We have tested the physical effects of the band offset and electron-hole effective masses on the optical emission in dot lens. The model could be implemented to get qualitative information of the parameters involved in the quantum dot or the measured optical properties as function of pressure.
I present a systematic study of self-assembled InAs/InP and InAs/GaAs quantum dots single particle and many body properties as a function of quantum dot-surrounding matrix valence band offset. I use an atomistic, empirical tight-binding approach and perform numerically demanding calculations for half-million atom nanosystems. I demonstrate that the overall confinement in quantum dots is a nontrivial interplay of two key factors: strain effects and the valence band offset. I show that strain effects determine both the peculiar structure of confined hole states of lens type InAs/GaAs quantum dot…
Epitaxial InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots (QDs) are widely used as highly efficient and pure sources of single photons and entangled photon-pairs, however reliable wafer-scale growth techniques have proved elusive. Growth of two-dimensional Quantum Well (QW) thin-films can be achieved with atomic precision down to below the de Broglie wavelength of electrons in the material, exposing the quantum particle-in-a-box energy vs. thickness-squared relationship. However, difficulties in controlling the exact moment of nanostructure nucleation obscure this behaviour in epitaxial QD material, preventing a clear…
We employ first-principles techniques tailored to properly describe semiconductors (modified Becke-Johnson potential added to the exchange-correlation functional), to obtain the electronic band structures of both the zinc-blende and wurtzite phases of GaAs, GaSb, InAs, and InSb. We extract the spin-orbit fields for the relevant valence and conduction bands at zone center, by fitting the spin-splittings resulting from the lack of space inversion symmetry of these bulk crystal structures, to known functional forms---third-order polynomials. We also determine the orientations of the spin-orbit ve…
The dynamics of an exciton-LO-phonon system after an ultrafast optical excitation in an InAs/GaAs quantum dot is studied theoretically. Influence of anharmonic phonon damping and its interplay with the phonon dispersion is analyzed. The signatures of the zone-edge decay process in the absorption spectrum and time evolution are highlighted, providing a possible way of experimental investigation on phonon anharmonicity effects.
Biexciton cascade process in self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) provides an ideal system for deterministic entangled photon pair source, which is essential in quantum information science. The entangled photon pairs have recently be realized in experiments after eliminating the FSS of exciton using a number of different methods. However, so far the QDs entangled photon sources are not scalable, because the wavelengths of the QDs are different from dot to dot. Here we propose a wavelength tunable entangled photon emitter on a three dimensional stressor, in which the FSS and exciton energy can be …
Molecular beam epitaxy is employed to manufacture self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot Schottky resonant tunneling diodes. By virtue of a thin AlAs insertion barrier, the thermal current is effectively reduced and electron resonant tunneling through quantum dots under both forward and reverse biased conditions is observed at relatively high temperature of 77K. The ground states of quantum dots are found to be at ~0.19eV below the conduction band of GaAs matrix. The theoretical computations are in conformity with experimental data.
We report on a new approach for positioning of self-assembled InAs quantum dots on (110) GaAs with nanometer precision. By combining self-assembly of quantum dots with molecular beam epitaxy on in-situ cleaved surfaces (cleaved-edge overgrowth) we have successfully fabricated arrays of long-range ordered InAs quantum dots. Both atomic force microscopy and micro-photoluminescence measurements demonstrate the ability to control size, position, and ordering of the quantum dots. Furthermore, single dot photoluminescence investigations confirm the high optical quality of the quantum dots fabricated…
In this work, the effect of size and wetting layer on subband electronic envelop functions, eigenenergies, linear and nonlinear absorption coefficients and refractive indices of a dome-shaped InAs/GaAs quantum dot were investigated. In our model, a dome of InAs quantum dot with its wetting layer embedded in a GaAs matrix was considered. A finite height barrier potential at the InAs/GaAs interface was assumed. To calculate envelop functions and eigenenergies, the effective one electronic band Hamiltonian and electron effective mass approximation were used. The linear and nonlinear optical prope…
Electron spin dynamics in InAs/GaAs heterostructures consisting of a single layer of InAs (1/3$\sim$1 monolayer) embeded in (001) and (311)A GaAs matrix was studied by means of time-resolved Kerr rotation spectroscopy. The spin relaxation time of the sub-monolayer InAs samples is significantly enhanced, compared with that of the monolayer InAs sample. We attributed the slowing of the spin relaxation to dimensionally constrained D\textquoteright{}yakonov-Perel\textquoteright{} mechanism in the motional narrowing regime. The electron spin relaxation time and the effective g-factor in sub-monolay…
Vertically stacked and coupled InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots (SADs) are predicted to exhibit a strong non-parabolic dependence of the interband transition energy on the electric field, which is not encountered in single SAD structures nor in other types of quantum structures. Our study based on an eight-band strain-dependent ${\bf k}\cdot{\bf p}$ Hamiltonian indicates that this anomalous quantum confined Stark effect is caused by the three-dimensional strain field distribution which influences drastically the hole states in the stacked SAD structures.
We report on the influence of hyperfine interaction on the optical orientation of singly charged excitons X+ and X- in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots. All measurements were carried out on individual quantum dots studied by micro-photoluminescence at low temperature. We show that the hyperfine interaction leads to an effective partial spin relaxation, under 50kHz modulated excitation polarization, which becomes however strongly inhibited under steady optical pumping conditions because of dynamical nuclear polarization. This optically created magnetic-like nuclear field can become very st…
Time-resolved microphotoluminescence study is presented for quantum dots which are formed in the InAs/GaAs wetting layer. These dots are due to fluctuations of In composition in the wetting layer. They show spectrally sharp luminescence lines with a low spatial density. We identify lines related to neutral exciton and biexciton as well as trions. Exciton emission antibunching (second order correlation value of g^2(0)=0.16) and biexciton-exciton emission cascade prove non-classical emission from the dots and confirm their potential as single photon sources.
We report on the magnetic field dispersion of the exciton spin-splitting and diamagnetic shift in single InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) and dot molecules (QDMs) up to $B$ = 28 T. Only for systems with strong geometric confinement, the dispersions can be well described by simple field dependencies, while for dots with weaker confinement considerable deviations are observed: most importantly, in the high field limit the spin-splitting shows a non-linear dependence on $B$, clearly indicating light hole admixtures to the valence band ground state.
The electronic structure of InAs quantum dots covered with the GaAs(1-y)Sb(y) strain reducing layer has been studied using the k.p theory. We explain previous experimental observations of the red shift of the photoluminescence emission with increasing y and its blue shift with increasing excitation power. For y>0.19 type-II dots are formed with holes localized in the GaAsSb close to the dot base; two segments at opposite sides of the dot, forming molecular-like states, result from the piezoelectric field. We also propose an experiment that could be used to identify the hole localization using …
We have studied a near-surface two-dimensional electron gas based on an InAs quantum well on a GaAs substrate. In devices without a dielectric layer we estimated large electron mobilities on the order of $10^5$ cm$^2$/Vs. We have observed quantized conductance in a quantum point contact, and determined the g-factor. Using samples with an epitaxial Al layer, we defined multiple Josephson junctions and found the critical current to be gate tunable. Based on multiple Andreev reflections the semiconductor-superconductor interface is transparent, with an induced gap of 125 $μ$eV. Our results demons…
For InAs/GaAs(001) quantum dot (QD) system, the wetting layer (WL) evolution and its temperature dependence were studied using reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS) and analyzed with a rate equation model. The WL thicknesses showed a monotonic increase at relatively low growth temperatures but a first increase and then decrease at higher temperatures, which were unexpected from the thermodynamic understanding. By adopting a rate equation model, the temperature dependence of QD growth was assigned as the origin of different WL evolutions. A brief discussion on the indium desorption was also…
Accurate modeling of electronic properties of nanostructures is a challenging theoretical problem. Methods making use of continuous media approximation, such as k.p, sometimes struggle to reproduce results obtained with more accurate atomistic approaches. On the contrary, atomistic schemes generally come with a substantially larger cost of computation. Here, we bridge between these two approaches by taking 8-band k.p method augmented with non-linear strain terms fit to reproduce sp3d5s* tight-binding results. We illustrate this method on the example of electron and hole states confined in quan…
External control over the electron and hole wavefunctions geometry and topology is investigated in a p-i-n diode embedding a dot-in-a-well InAs/GaAsSb quantum structure with type II band alignment. We find highly tunable exciton dipole moments and largely decoupled exciton recombination and ionization dynamics. We also predicted a bias regime where the hole wavefunction topology changes continuously from quantum dot-like to quantum ring-like as a function of the external bias. All these properties have great potential in advanced electro-optical applications and in the investigation of fundame…
We report on the resonant optical pumping of the |\pm1> spin states of a single Mn dopant in an InAs/GaAs quantum dot embedded itself in a charge tuneable device. The experiment relies on a "W" scheme of transitions reached when a suitable longitudinal magnetic field is applied. The optical pumping is achieved via the resonant excitation of the central Λ system at the neutral exciton X0 energy. For a specific gate voltage, the red-shifted photoluminescence of the charged exciton X- is observed, which allows non-destructive readout of the spin polarization. An arbitrary spin preparation in the …
The preparation of a coherent heavy-hole spin via ionization of a spin-polarized electron-hole pair in an InAs/GaAs quantum dot in a Voigt geometry magnetic field is investigated. For a dot with a 17 ueV bright-exciton fine-structure splitting, the fidelity of the spin preparation is limited to 0.75, with optimum preparation occurring when the effective fine-structure of the bright-exciton matches the in-plane hole Zeeman energy. In principle, higher fidelities can be achieved by minimizing the bright-exciton fine-structure splitting.
Tailoring electronic and optical properties of self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) is a critical limit for the design of several QD-based optoelectronic devices operating in the telecom frequency range. We describe how a fine control of the strain-induced surface kinetics during the growth of vertically-stacked multiple layers of QDs allow to engineer their self organization process. Most noticeably, the present study shows that the underlying strain field induced along a QD stack can be modulated and controlled by time-dependent intermixing and segregation effects occurring after capping w…
The dynamic response of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) to strain is studied experimentally by periodically modulating the QDs with a surface acoustic wave and measuring the QD fluorescence with photoluminescence and resonant spectroscopy. When the acoustic frequency is larger than the QD linewidth, we resolve phonon sidebands in the QD fluorescence spectrum. Using a resonant pump laser, we have demonstrated optical frequency conversion via the dynamically modulated QD, which is the physical mechanism underlying laser sideband cooling a nanomechanical resonator by means of an embed…
Surface energies play a dominant role in the self-assembly of three dimensional (3D) nanostructures. In this letter, we show that using surfactants to modify surface energies can provide a means to externally control nanostructure self-assembly, enabling the synthesis of novel hierarchical nanostructures. We explore Bi as a surfactant in the growth of InAs on the {1-10} sidewall facets of GaAs nanowires. The presence of surface Bi induces the formation of InAs 3D islands by a process resembling the Stranski-Krastanov mechanism, which does not occur in the absence of Bi on these surfaces. The I…
A new generalised group-theoretical approach, based on master Maxwell-pseudospin equations, is proposed to explain recently observed enhanced circular dichroism in the excited state emission from p-doped quantum dot ensembles under resonant circularly polarised excitation into hot trion states, herein referred to as "spin-filtering effect". The theory agrees remarkably well with polarised time-resolved photoluminescence experiments, yielding largely unknown inter- and intra-shell spin relaxation time scales. This approach allows to predict optimum pulse parameters for control of spin dynamics,…
We investigate the optical properties of InAs quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(110) using Bi as a surfactant. The quantum dots are synthesized on planar GaAs(110) substrates as well as on the {110} sidewall facets of GaAs nanowires. At 10 K, neutral excitons confined in these quantum dots give rise to photoluminescence lines between 1.1 and 1.4 eV. Magneto-photoluminescence spectroscopy reveals that for small quantum dots emitting between 1.3 and 1.4 eV, the electron-hole coherence length in and perpendicular to the (110) plane is on the order of 5 and 2 nm, respectively. T…
We report on coherent emission of the neutral exciton state in a single semiconductor self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot embedded in a one-dimensional waveguide, under resonant picosecond pulsed excita- tion. Direct measurements of the radiative lifetime and coherence time are performed as a function of excitation power and temperature. The characteristic damping of Rabi oscillations which is observed, is attributed to an excitation-induced dephasing due to a resonant coupling between the emitter and the acoustic phonon bath of the matrix. Other sources responsible for the decrease of the co…
We investigated the current-voltage characteristic of InAs/GaAs quantum dot intermediate band solar cells (QD IBSCs) with different n-type doping density in the QD layer. The n-type doping evidently increases the open circuit voltage, meanwhile decreases the short circuit current density, and leads to the conversion efficiency approaching that of the control solar cell, that is the major role of n-type doping is to suppress the effects of QDs on the current-voltage characteristic. Our model adopts practical parameters for simulation rather than those from detailed balanced method, so that the …
We report a valley photonic crystal (VPhC) waveguide in a GaAs slab with InAs quantum dots (QDs) as an internal light source exploited for experimental characterization of the waveguide. A topological interface state formed at the interface between two topologically-distinct VPhCs is used as the waveguide mode. We demonstrate robust propagation for near-infrared light emitted from the QDs even under the presence of sharp bends as a consequence of the topological protection of the guided mode. Our work will be of importance for developing robust photonic integrated circuits with small footprint…
The exciton lifetimes $T_1$ in arrays of InAs/GaAs vertically coupled quantum dot pairs have been measured by time-resolved photoluminescence. A considerable reduction of $T_1$ by up to a factor of $\sim$ 2 has been observed as compared to a quantum dots reference, reflecting the inter-dot coherence. Increase of the molecular coupling strength leads to a systematic decrease of $T_1$ with decreasing barrier width, as for wide barriers a fraction of structures shows reduced coupling while for narrow barriers all molecules appear to be well coupled. The coherent excitons in the molecules gain the…
We report on linewidth analysis of optical transitions in InAs/GaAs coupled quantum dots as a function of bias voltage, temperature, and tunnel coupling strength. A significant line broadening up to 100 $μ$eV is observed at hole tunneling resonances where the coherent tunnel coupling between spatially direct and indirect exciton states is maximized, corresponding to a phonon-assisted transition rate of 150 ns${}^{-1}$ at 20 K. With increasing temperature, the linewidth shows broadening characteristic of single-phonon transitions. The linewidth as a function of tunnel coupling strength tracks t…
The GaAs-based material system is well-known for the implementation of InAs quantum dots (QDs) with outstanding optical properties. However, these dots typically emit at a wavelength of around 900nm. The insertion of a metamorphic buffer (MMB) can shift the emission to the technologically attractive telecom C-band range centered at 1550nm. However, the thickness of common MMB designs limits their compatibility with most photonic resonator types. Here we report on the MOVPE growth of a novel InGaAs MMB with a non-linear indium content grading profile designed to maximize plastic relaxation with…
We report on a combined photoluminescence imaging and atomic force microscopy study of single, isolated self-assembled InAs quantum dots (density <0.01 um^(-2) capped by a 95 nm GaAs layer, and emitting around 950 nm. By combining optical and scanning probe characterization techniques, we determine the position of single quantum dots with respect to comparatively large (100 nm to 1000 nm in-plane dimension) topographic features. We find that quantum dots often appear (>25% of the time) in the vicinity of these features, but generally do not exhibit significant differences in their non-resonant…
We have investigated the optical and transport properties of MBE grown short-period superlattices of InAs/GaAs with different numbers of periods (3 <= N <= 24) and a total thickness 14 nm. Bandstructure calculations show that these superlattices represent a quantum well with average composition In_0.16Ga_0.84As. The electron wave functions are only slightly modulated by the superlattice potential as compared to a single quantum well with the same composition, which was grown as a reference sample. The photoluminescence, the resistance, the Shubnikov-de Haas effect and the Hall effect have been…
Exciton fine structures in cubic III-V semiconductor GaAs, InAs and GaN quantum dots are investigated systematically and the exciton spin relaxation in GaN quantum dots is calculated by first setting up the effective exciton Hamiltonian. The electron-hole exchange interaction Hamiltonian, which consists of the long- and short-range parts, is derived within the effective-mass approximation by taking into account the conduction, heavy- and light-hole bands, and especially the split-off band. The scheme applied in this work allows the description of excitons in both the strong and weak confinemen…
We present a study on the influence of strain-relieving InAlAs buffer layers on metamorphic InAs/InGaAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs. Residual strain in the buffer layer, the InGaAs barrier and the InAs wells were assessed by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. By carefully choosing the composition profile and thicknesses of the buffer layer, virtually unstrained InGaAs barriers embedding an InAs quantum well with thickness up to 7nm can be grown. This allows reaching low-temperature electron mobilities much higher than previously re…
The hot carrier dynamics and its effect on the device performance of GaAs solar cell and InAs/GaAs quantum dot solar cell (QDSC) was investigated. At first, the fundamental operation feature of conventional hot carrier solar cell was simulated based on the detailed balance thermodynamic model. Then we investigated the hot carrier dynamics in the normal junction based solar cell using hydrodynamic/energy Boltzmann transportation model (HETM) where the two temperature (carrier temperature and lattice temperature are treated separately. For the first time, we report an inherent quasi-equivalence …
We present a detailed study of the use of Fabry-Perot (FP) cavities for the spectroscopy of single InAs quantum dots (QDs). We derive optimal cavity characteristics and resolution limits, and measure photoluminescence linewidths as low as 0.9 GHz. By embedding the QDs in a planar cavity, we obtain a sufficiently large signal to actively feed back on the length of the FP to lock to the emission of a single QD with a stability below 2% of the QD linewidth. An integration time of approximately two seconds is found to yield an optimum compromise between shot noise and cavity length fluctuations.
We investigate the noise properties of a GaAs-AlAs-GaAs tunneling structure with embedded self-assembled InAs quantum dots in the single-electron tunneling regime. We analyze the dependence of the relative noise amplitude of the shot noise on bias voltage. We observe a non-monotonic behaviour of the Fano-factor $α$ with an average value of $α\approx 0.8$ consistent with the asymmetry of the tunneling barriers. Reproducible fluctuations observed in $α$ can be attributed to the successive participation of more and more InAs quantum dots in the tunneling current.
We report a photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy study of charge state control in single self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots by applying electric and/or magnetic fields at 4.2 K. Neutral and charged exciton complexes were observed under applied bias voltages from -0.5 V to 0.5 V by controlling the carrier tunneling. The highly negatively charged exciton emission becomes stronger with increasing pumping power, arising from the fact that electrons have a smaller effective mass than holes and are more easily captured by the quantum dots. The integrated PL intensity of negatively charged excitons…
The InAs/InGaAs DWELL solar cell grown by MBE is a standard pin diode structure with six layers of InAs QDs embedded in InGaAs quantum wells placed within a 200-nm intrinsic GaAs region. The GaAs control wafer consists of the same pin configuration but without the DWELL structure. The typical DWELL solar cell exhibits higher short current density while maintaining nearly the same open-circuit voltage for different scales, and the advantage of higher short current density is more obvious in the smaller cells. In contrast, the smaller size cells, which have a higher perimeter to area ratio, make…
AlGaAs nanowires as a universal platform for GaAs, InGaAs, and InAs quantum dots
Technical University of Denmark(丹麦技术大学);St. Petersburg State University(圣彼得堡国立大学);Université Paris Saclay(巴黎萨克雷大学);CNRS(法国国家科学研究中心);Alferov University(阿尔费罗夫大学)
The purpose of this research is to study laser dynamics of InAs/GaAs Quantum Dot Lasers (QDLs) by changing QD energy levels. To date, most of the investigations have focused on only one of these circumstances, and hardly the result of change in the energy levels can be seen in lasing. In this work, in the first step, energy levels of lens-shape QDs are investigated by the eight-band k.p method, their variation for different QD sizes are surveyed, and recombination energies of the discrete levels are determined. Then, by representing a three-level InAs/GaAs QD laser, dynamics of such a laser de…
We study the effect of valence band spin-orbit interactions on the acoustic phonon assisted spin relaxation of holes confined in quantum dots. Heavy hole-light hole (hh-lh) mixing and all the spin-orbit terms arising from zinc-blende bulk inversion asymmetry (BIA) are considered on equal footing in a fully 3D Hamiltonian. We show that hh-lh mixing and BIA have comparable contributions to the hole spin relaxation in self-assembled QDs, but BIA becomes dominant in gated QDs. The dependence of the hole spin relaxation on the QD geometry and spin splitting energy is drastically different from that…
In semiconductor quantum dots, the electron hyperfine interaction with the nuclear spin bath is the leading source of spin decoherence at cryogenic temperature. Using high-resolution two-color differential transmission spectroscopy, we demonstrate that such electron-nuclear coupling also imposes a lower limit for the positively charged exciton dephasing rate, γ, in an ensemble of InAs/GaAs quantum dots. We find that the dephasing rate is sensitive to the strength of the hyperfine interaction, which can be controlled through the application of an external magnetic field in the Faraday configura…