Presentation and experimental validation of a single-band, constant-potential model for self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

A single-band, constant-confining-potential model is applied to self-assembled InAs/GaAs pyramidal dots in order to determine their electronic structure. The calculated energy eigenvalues and transition energies agree well with those of more sophisticated treatments which take into account the microscopic effects of the strain distribution on band mixing, confining potentials, and effective masses. The predictions of the model are compared with several spectra reported in the literature by different authors. Very good agreement with both energy position and number of peaks in such spectra is found. The hole energy splitting between ground and first excited states deduced from capacitance and photoluminescence measurements is in excellent agreement with our calculated values. The simplicity and versatility of the model, together with its modest computational demands, make it ideally suited to a routine interpretation and analysis of experimental data.