We present the results of experimental studies on the synthesis by molecular-beam epitaxy of AlGaAs nanowires with InAs quantum dots. The morphological, structural, and optical properties of the grown nanostructures have been studied. It is important to note that the emission from quantum dots is observed in the wavelength range from 750 to 970 nm. Assumptions about the nature of short-wavelength emission from quantum dots are formulated. In particular, one of the reasons may be a significant desorption of indium atoms and the presence of gallium atoms in catalyst drops during the growth at a substrate temperature of 510◦C. The proposed technology opens up new possibilities for integration direct-gap III−V materials with a silicon platform for various applications in photonics and quantum communications.

This paper presents the results of the experimental studies of InAs quantum dot overgrowth by a low-temperature GaAs layer at different arsenic vapor pressures. It is revealed that a threefold decrease in the arsenic pressure at a fixed deposition rate of the capping layer leads to a change in the shape of the photoluminescence spectrum of quantum dots with one maximum at the level of 1.19 eV to the shape of the spectrum with two low-energy contributions at the levels of 1.08 and 1.15 eV. Based on the analysis of the power dependences of the photoluminescence spectra, it is found that the low-energy contributions of the photoluminescence of quantum dots overgrown at a low arsenic pressure correspond to the ground-state emission two groups of quantum dots with different average sizes formed during mass transfer in the “quantum dot – wetting layer – matrix” system.

Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) has been used to study the optical properties of three-dimensional quantum-sized InGaPAs islands formed by substituting phosphorus by arsenic in an InGaP layer deposited on GaAs directly during epitaxial growth. PL line of the formed array of islands is in the range of 950–1000 nm at room temperature. Studies of PL in the temperature range 78–300 K indicate a significant inhomogeneity of the island array, the presence of nonradiative recombination centers, and carrier transport between islands. We observe in the photoluminescence excitation spectra a line associated with absorption in the residual two-dimensional InGaPAs layer. Annealing of the structures results in 300% increase of the PL intensity at room temperature with an insignificant short-wavelength shift of the island PL line, and also in improvement of the homogeneity within the island array.

The rate equations are used to analyze the characteristics of a tandem consisting of a laser diode and a semiconductor optical amplifier made of a single heterostructure with quantum dots. The optimal value of the current distribution coefficient the amplifier and the laser, as well as the optimal resonator length that provides the highest output power of the tandem were determined. It is shown that the use of the tandem allows, at the same total consumed current, to significantly (more than 4 times for 1 A) increase the power emitted through the ground-state optical transition in comparison with that achievable with a laser diode solely being limited by the onset of lasing through an excited-state optical transition.