Electronic Excitations in Semiconductors

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter presents a general description and calculation of the electronic band structures in III–V and II–VI semiconductors with both zinc-blende and wurtzite crystal structures. Relevant concepts are introduced, including the Bloch’s theorem and the symmetry theory based on the mathematics of group representations. Analytical expressions for the band dispersion around high-symmetry points of the Brillouin zone are obtained in the framework of the k⋅p theory. Kane and Luttinger–Kohn models are represented for the zinc-blende crystal structure, while the electronic band structure of the wurtzite-type semiconductors is defined within the Kane model and the model developed by Rashba, Sheka, and Pikus. Effects of elastic strain on the band structures are described. The basic principles of the band theory in crystals, outlined in this chapter, are employed in following chapters to define optical processes in semiconductor and metal–semiconductor nanostructures.