Valence subband structures of wurtzite GaN/AlGaN quantum wells

Abstract

Valence subband structures of wurtzite GaN/AlGaN quantum wells have been studied, using the k⋅p method in which the parameters are derived by first-principles calculations. Since wurtzite GaN and AlN have the small spin-orbit splitting energies (≤20 meV), the mixing among the six bands including the spin-orbit split band should be considered to obtain the subband states correctly. According to our parameters for the GaN/AlGaN quantum well, the hole carrier confinement in the two-dimensional systems does not lead to a significant reduction of hole masses, and so the threshold current density of wurtzite GaN/AlGaN quantum well laser diodes is not decreased.