Abnormal temperature dependent photoluminescence of self-assembled InAs/GaAs surface quantum dots with high areal density

We have investigated temperature dependent photoluminescence of both buried and surface self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots with an areal density up to ∼1011/cm2. Different from the buried quantum dots, the peak energy of surface quantum dots shows a blueshift relative to the bulk material variation from 15 to 130 K. Besides the line width and the integrated intensity both first decrease and then increase in this temperature interval. The observed phenomena can be explained by carrier trapping effects by some shallow localized centers near the surface quantum dots.