Lateral quantization induced emission energy shift of buried GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires

Buried GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires were prepared by Al0.2Ga0.8As overgrowth of deep etched wires defined by high‐resolution electron beam lithography and dry etching. The overgrown wires show a dramatic decrease of the optically inactive sidewall layer compared to open wires. For wires with a lateral dimension Lx=50 nm we observe a spectral shift to higher energies of the excitonic emission, in good agreement with calculations of the two‐dimensional confinement effects.