InN/GaN Superlattices: Band Structures and Their Pressure Dependence

Abstract

Creation of short-period InN/GaN superlattices is one of the possible ways of conducting band gap engineering in the green-blue range of the spectrum. The present paper reports results of photoluminescence experiments, including pressure effects, on a superlattice sample consisting of unit cells with one monolayer of InN and 40 monolayers of GaN. The results are compared with calculations performed for different types of superlattices: InN/GaN, InGaN/GaN, and InN/InGaN/GaN with single monolayers of InN and/or InGaN. The superlattices are simulated by band structure calculations based on the local density approximation (LDA) with a semi-empirical correction for the “LDA gap error”. A similarity is observed between the results of calculations for an InGaN/GaN superlattice (with one monolayer of InGaN) and the experimental results. This indicates that the fabricated InN quantum wells may contain some Ga atoms due to interdiffusion.