Anticorrelation between the splitting and polarization of the exciton fine structure in single self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We report on a systematic correlation between the fine-structure splitting and polarization anisotropy of excitons in InAs/GaAs quantum dots, but with an unexpected reversal in order of the polarization eigenaxes. Such an anticorrelation is explained by a large valence-band-mixing induced splitting due to the shape and strain anisotropies. The strength and phase of valence band mixing are also found to play an important role in the tuning of fine structure splitting using an in-plane magnetic field.