Effects of dimensionality on radiative recombination lifetime of excitons in thin quantum boxes of intermediate regime between zero and two dimensions

We report on effects of dimensionality on radiative recombination lifetime in thin quantum boxes of intermediate regime between 0D and 2D. The temperature dependence of the recombination lifetime is calculated using a theoretical analysis that rigorously treats the electron-hole Coulomb interaction. We show how the dependence evolves from 2D to 0D with a decrease in the lateral width of the box. We also examine the effects of exciton localization, which arises from structural defects in the boxes, on the radiative recombination lifetime. These theoretical results are compared with experimental data obtained from InGaAs quantum disks on a (311)B GaAs substrate. Good agreement between theoretical results and the experimental data is obtained.