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Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Compact Quantum Dots for Single-molecule Imaging
Published on: October 9, 2012
Shape and composition map of a prepyramid quantum dot
1Department of Mathematics, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14260-2900, USA.
Abstract:
We present a theory for the shape, size, and nonuniform composition profile of a small prepyramid island in an alloy epitaxial film when surface diffusion is much faster than deposition and bulk diffusion. The predicted composition profile has segregation of the larger misfit component to the island peak, with segregation enhanced by misfit strain and solute strain but retarded by alloy solution thermodynamics. Vertical composition gradients through the center of the island due to this mechanism are on the order of 2%/nm for Ge(X)Si(1-X)/Si and 10-15%/nm for In(X)Ga(1-X)As/GaAs.
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