HIGH-SPATIAL-RESOLUTION SPECTROSCOPY OF A SINGLE V-SHAPED QUANTUM-WIRE

We report on microscopic photoluminescence of a single V-shaped AlGaAs /GaAs quantum wire. The experiments are performed at low temperature b y selectively exciting 1 mu m(2) of the sample. The main photoluminesc ence line is split into sharp peaks of width less than 0.5 meV and sep arated by a few meV, The energy position and the Intensity of the peak s are characteristic of the scanned quantum wire. First microphotolumi nescence results suggest that localization phenomena are predominant i n the quantum wire. They are due to the formation of extended monolaye r-step islands, larger than the exciton radius, as in the case of high -quality quantum wells. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics. [S0003 -6951(97)00343-4].