Instability and electrical characteristics of GaAs/InAs quantum dot structures

We report on GaAs samples containing an InAs quantum dot matrix grown from 3 monolayers of InAs. In this case, most of the mechanical stress relaxes by misfit dislocations. Capacitance measurements have been performed on macroscopic devices and, also, from a scanning microscope in which the capacitance is measured between the probe and sample surface. It was found that the electrical characteristics dramatically change during the capacitance measurements. This is explained by a degradation of the quantum dot layer which is attributed to the generation of point defects and/or dislocations. These results draw attention to the fact that, at the microscopic scale measurement, a small current may result in a large local current density which, in turn, degrades the device.