SIZE DEPENDENCE OF CONFINED OPTICAL MODES IN PHOTONIC QUANTUM DOTS

Confined optical modes in semiconductor microcavities with lateral siz es between 5 and 1 mu m have been investigated by optical spectroscopy . In the laterally patterned structures the optical mode spectrum of t he vertical cavity splits inter several Lines. With decreasing lateral size the modes shift to higher energies, and the splitting between th e modes increases. The observed dot size variation of the optical eige nmodes is in quantitative agreement with numerical calculations of qua ntized photon states in these three-dimensional optical cavities.