Here we propose a carrier transport mechanism for low energy H- ions implanted InAs/GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetectors supportive of the experimental results obtained. Dark current density suppression of up to four orders was observed in the implanted quantum dot infrared photodetectors, which further demonstrates that they are effectively operational. We concentrated on determining how defect-related material and structural changes attributed to implantation helped in dark current density reduction for InAs/GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetectors. This is the first study to report the electrical carrier transport mechanism of H- ion-implanted InAs/GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetectors. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.