Entropies associated with electron emission from InAs/GaAs quantum dots

Entropies associated with the transition of electrons into and out of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) are calculated by considering the temperature dependence of energy eigenvalues due to strain and energy band offset variations. It is found that, for InAs/GaAs quantum dots with base/height dimensions of 20/10 nm, the contribution from the surrounding lattice to entropy is smaller than View the MathML source for the temperature region below 100 K, where most measurements of thermal emission rates are performed. Including the electron degeneracy, the total entropy change has an upper limit of View the MathML source when releasing the first electron from the s-shell, while the second released s-electron is connected with an entropy change not larger than the absolute value of View the MathML source.