Electric-field-controlled electron relaxation in lateral double quantum dots embedded in a suspended slab

Abstract

This study investigates phonon-induced electron relaxation in a lateral double quantum dot that is embedded in a suspended slab. Exact calculations are made in electric fields. The dependence of the relaxation rate on the parameters of the dots and the slabs is analyzed. Numerical results indicate that the relaxation rate depends strongly on the phonon character of the slab. Unlike in the bulk environment, phonon-subband quantization clearly influences the behavior. In particular, the relaxation rate can be greatly suppressed or enhanced by tuning the electric fields. This fact may be useful in manipulating the relaxation rate in lateral double quantum dots.