In this work we study theoretically and experimentally the multi-particle structure of the so-called type-II quantum dots with spatially separated electrons and holes. Our calculations based on customarily developed full configuration interaction ap- proach reveal that exciton complexes containing holes interacting with two or more electrons exhibit fairly large antibinding energies. This effect is found to be the hallmark of the type-II confinement. In addition, an approximate self-consistent solution of the multi-exciton problem allows us to explain two pronounced phenomena: the blue-shift of the emission with pumping and the large inhomogeneous spectral broadening, both of those eluding explanation so far. The results are confirmed by detailed intensity and polarization resolved photoluminescence measurements on a number of type-II samples.

The optical response of (InGa)(AsSb)/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown on GaP (001) substrates is studied by means of excitation and temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL), and it is related to their complex electronic structure. Such QDs exhibit concurrently direct and indirect transitions, which allows the swapping of Γ and L quantum confined states in energy, depending on details of their stoichiometry. Based on realistic data on QD structure and composition, derived from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) measurements, simulations by means of k · p theory are performed. The theoretical prediction of both momentum direct and indirect type-I optical transitions are confirmed by the experiments presented here. Additional investigations by a combination of Raman and photoreflectance spectroscopy show modifications of the hydrostatic strain in the QD layer, depending on the sequential addition of QDs and capping layer. A variation of the excitation density across four orders of magnitude reveals a 50 meV energy blueshift of the QD emission. Our findings suggest that the assignment of the type of transition, based solely by the observation of a blueshift with increased pumping, is insufficient. We propose therefore a more consistent approach based on the analysis of the character of the blueshift evolution with optical pumping, which employs a numerical model based on a semi-self-consistent configuration interaction method.