Effect of size nonuniformity on the absorption spectrum of a semiconductor quantum dot system

The interband optical absorption of a nonuniform semiconductor quantum dot system is calculated. The effect of dot size variation on the resolvability of the absorption peaks is estimated. The dots are assumed to be cubic, with a size distribution described by a Gaussian function. It is shown that the total absorption spectrum of such a dot system depends strongly on the dot size distribution described by the parameter the ratio of the standard deviation of the dot size to the average dot size of the system. The range of values for which the absorption peaks are resolvable is given.