Electronic Band Structure of Bulk and QW Nitrides

Abstract

The band structure of a given semiconductor is pivotal in determining its potential utility. Consequently, an accurate knowledge of the band structure is critical if the semiconductor in question is to be incorporated in the family of materials considered for serious investigations and device applications. The group III-V nitrides are no exception and it is their direct-band-gap nature and the size of the energy gap what spurred the recent activity. A number of researchers have published band-structure calculations for both Wurzite and zincblende GaN, AlN, and InN. The first Wz GaN band structure found through a pseudo-potential method led to a 3.5 eV direct bandgap. The band structure for ZB GaN has been obtained by a first-principles technique within the local-density functional framework with a direct bandgap of 3.40 eV and a lattice constant of 4.50 Å. A treatise of the bad structure in bulk and quantum wells with and without strain will be given below.