Single-electron charging of self assembled quantum dots

A theoretical description is given for a single-electron charging of cylind rical quantum dots. This work is motivated by the recent capacitance-spectr oscopy experiments with self assembled InAs quantum dots. We have applied t he unrestricted Hartree-Fock method to calculate the energy levels of artif icial-atom states with N = 1-8 electrons in a three-dimensional disk-shaped potential well of finite depth. We have calculated the magnetic-field depe ndence of chemical potentials for N electrons in the dot and determined the positions of capacitance peaks as functions of the applied magnetic and el ectric fields. The numerical results very well agree with experimental data . We have also considered the influence of the geometry of the device on th e spin-orbital configuration of the occupied states and discussed an applic ability of two-dimensional model for electrons in cylindrical quantum dots. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.