Selective Optical Charge Generation, Storage and Readout in a Single Self Assembled Quantum Dot

We report the investigation of a single quantum dot charge storage device. The device allows selective optical charging of a single dot with electrons, storage of these charges over timescales much longer than microseconds and reliable optical readout of the charge occupancy using a time gated photoluminescence technique. This device enables us to directly investigate the electric field dependent tunneling escape dynamics of electrons at high electric fields over timescales up to 4 us. The results demonstrate that such structures and measurement techniques can be used to investigate charge and spin dynamics in single quantum dots over microsecond timescales.