Manifestation of unconventional biexciton states in quantum dots.

Abstract

Although semiconductor excitons consist of a fermionic subsystem (electron and hole), they carry an integer net spin similar to Cooper-electron-pairs. While the latter cause superconductivity by forming a Bose-Einstein-condensate, excitonic condensation is impeded by, for example, a fast radiative decay of the electron-hole pairs. Here, we investigate the behaviour of two electron-hole pairs in a quantum dot with wurtzite crystal structure evoking a charge carrier separation on the basis of large spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations, thus reducing carrier overlap and consequently decay probabilities. As a direct consequence, we find a hybrid-biexciton complex with a water molecule-like charge distribution enabling anomalous spin configurations. In contrast to the conventional-biexciton complex with a net spin of s=0, the hybrid-biexciton exhibits s=±3, leading to completely different photoluminescence signatures in addition to drastically enhanced charge carrier-binding energies. Consequently, the biexcitonic cascade via the dark exciton can be enhanced on the rise of temperature as approved by photon cross-correlation measurements.