The authors have calculated the electronic structure for type-II InP/GaAs quantum dot systems considering a three-dimensional geometry including the wetting layer and the electron-hole interaction, which is the only responsible for the hole localization. Their results for the InP/GaAs structure show the electron confined inside the dot and the hole in the GaAs layer, partially above and below the dot. The authors propose structures with InGaAs or InGaP layers, where the hole wave function forms a ring around the dot walls. The electron-hole overlap, and therefore, the carrier lifetimes are very sensitive to the structural geometry, which is an important tool for device engineering. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.9021