A review on the empirical calculation of the electronic band structure of the valence band of the ideal (001) surface of the III-V and II-VI semiconductor compounds

Abstract

In our previous work we have discussed the valence band electronic band structure of a (001) oriented surface (semi-infinite medium) of some II-VI and III-V zinc-blende semiconductor compounds. For these systems, we have found three characteristic surface resonances, besides the known bulk bands (hh, lh and spin-orbit bands). Two of these resonances correspond to the anion terminated surface and the third one to the cation terminated one. We have shown, specifically, that three non dispersive (001)-surface induced bulk states, in the Γ-X direction of the 2D Brillouin zone, do exist and are characteristic of these systems. The existence of these states has been confirmed, independently, by different experimental groups. In this work, we briefly review the main characteristics of the electronic structure of the (001)-surfaces to up-date their analysis. We found that, in general, the nondispersive states occur in several, if not all, crystal surfaces, and, on general grounds, as the consequence of introducing to an infinite medium a frontier of any kind (not only the vacuum). For that reason we propose here, to name them, more appropriately as Frontier Induced Semi-Infinite Medium (FISIM) states.