Electrostatic force spectroscopy of a single InAs quantum dot

Abstract

Electrostatic force microscopy at cryogenic temperatures was used to probe the electrostatic interaction between a conductive atomic force microscopy tip and electronic charges trapped in an InAs quantum dot. Measurement of the self-oscillation frequency shift of the cantilever as a function of tip-sample bias voltage revealed discrete jumps at certain voltages when the tip was positioned above a quantum dot. These jumps are attributed to single-electron filling of the electronic states of the quantum dot. The estimated resonant energies of two s-states and four p-states are compared with the experimental data obtained for an ensemble of quantum dots by the capacitance measurement technique.