  Quantum disc structures (with diameters of 200 nm and 100 nm) were prepared
from a Zn_{0.72}Mn_{0.28}Se/ZnSe single quantum well structure by electron beam
lithography followed by an etching procedure which combined dry and wet etching
techniques. The quantum disc structures and the parent structure were studied
by photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy. For the
light-hole excitons in the quantum well region, shifts of the energy positions
are observed following fabrication of the discs, confirming that strain
relaxation occurs in the pillars. The light-hole exciton lines also sharpen
following disc fabrication: this is due to an interplay between strain effects
(related to dislocations) and the lateral size of the discs. A further
consequence of the small lateral sizes of the discs is that the intensity of
the donor-bound exciton emission from the disc is found to decrease with the
disc radius. These size-related effects occur before the disc radius is reduced
to dimensions necessary for lateral quantum confinement to occur but will
remain important when the discs are made small enough to be considered as
quantum dots.
