Quantum-dots in micro-pillar micro-cavities: experiment and theory

This work reports on the modelled micro-pillar micro-cavities made of III-V semiconductor materials (AlAs/GaAs) with quarter-wavelength-period stacks resonant at wavelengths in the 900-1000 nm region using the 3-D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. A broadband dipole source is placed in the centre of the cavity and a short few-cycle excitation pulse is input to model quantum dot emission. The cavity then rings at its resonant frequency and the cavity ring down is monitored using a probe above the pillar. This allows the resonances of the various waveguide modes in the cavity to be determined.