  We report on experimental study into the effects of surface acoustic waves on
the optical emission of dot-in-a-nanowire heterostructures in III-V material
systems. Under direct optical excitation, the excitonic energy levels in
III-nitride dot-in-a-nanowire heterostructures oscillate at the acoustic
frequency, producing a characteristic splitting of the emission lines in the
time-integrated photoluminescence spectra. This acoustically induced periodic
tuning of the excitonic transition energies is combined with spectral detection
filtering and employed as a tool to regulate the temporal output of
anti-bunched photons emitted from these nanowire quantum dots. In addition, the
acoustic transport of electrons and holes along a III-arsenide nanowire injects
the electric charges into an ensemble of quantum dot-like recombination centers
that are spatially separated from the optical excitation area. The acoustic
population and depopulation mechanism determines the number of carrier
recombination events taking place simultaneously in the ensemble, thus allowing
a control of the anti-bunching degree of the emitted photons. The present
results are relevant for the dynamic control of single photon emission in III-V
semiconductor heterostructures.
