Engineering of the magnetic properties of strained quantum dots

Exchange interactions between the holes confined in arrays of strained quan tum dots subject to compressive and tensile strain are shown to lead to fer rimagnetic arrangement of magnetic moments. Using example of strained In1-x GaxAs quantum dots on InP substrate, it is shown how magnetic properties of a semiconductor material can be engineered without resorting to doping wit h magnetic ions, and the Curie temperature is estimated to be of the order of 25 K. Potential applications in information storage and processing are c onsidered. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)01452-1].