We present a comprehensive, up-to-date compilation of band parameters for the technologically important III–V zinc blende and wurtzite compound semiconductors: GaAs, GaSb, GaP, GaN, AlAs, AlSb, AlP, AlN, InAs, InSb, InP, and InN, along with their ternary and quaternary alloys. Based on a review of the existing literature, complete and consistent parameter sets are given for all materials. Emphasizing the quantities required for band structure calculations, we tabulate the direct and indirect energy gaps, spin-orbit, and crystal-field splittings, alloy bowing parameters, effective masses for electrons, heavy, light, and split-off holes, Luttinger parameters, interband momentum matrix elements, and deformation potentials, including temperature and alloy-composition dependences where available. Heterostructure band offsets are also given, on an absolute scale that allows any material to be aligned relative to any other.

Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys

Using a first-principles band structure method we have theoretically studied the effects of Ga additions on the electronic and structural properties of CuInSe2. We find that (i) with increasing xGa, the valence band maximum of CuIn1−xGaxSe2 (CIGS) decreases slightly, while the conduction band minimum (and the band gap) of CIGS increases significantly, (ii) the acceptor formation energies are similar in both CuInSe2 (CIS) and CuGaSe2 (CGS), but the donor formation energy is larger in CGS than in CIS, (iii) the acceptor transition levels are shallower in CGS than in CIS, but the GaCu donor level in CGS is much deeper than the InCu donor level in CIS, and (iv) the stability domain of the chalcopyrite phase increases with respect to ordered defect compounds. Our results are compared with available experimental observations.

Effects of Ga addition to CuInSe2 on its electronic, structural, and defect properties

Three- and low-dimensional inorganic semiconductors

Interfacial elastic strain induced by the lattice parameter mismatch between epilayer and substrate results in significant energy–band‐gap shifts for III‐V alloys. The epilayers used in this study are GaxIn1−xAs on (100) InP and GaxIn1−xP on (100) GaAs prepared by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. For layer thicknesses between 1 and 1.5 μm, and Δas.f./a0≤3.5×10−3 the misfit strain is assumed to be accommodated elastically. The energy–band‐gap shifts are determined by comparing the photoluminescence peak energies of the epilayers with the best experimental relation of band gap versus composition for unstrained layers. A calculation of the energy–band‐gap shift due to biaxial stress made for GaxIn1−xAs is found to agree with the photoluminescence measurements. In addition, a comparison of the energy–band‐gap shift for GaxIn1−xP shows a clearly different dependency for tensile and compressive strain, in good agreement with calculated results.

Effect of mismatch strain on band gap in III‐V semiconductors

We present experimental results concerning optical transitions and carrier dynamics (capture and relaxation) in self assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot structures grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy.Photoluminescence(PL) measurements at high excitation level reveal optical transitions above the ground state emission. These transitions are found to originate from occupied hole states by solving the quantum doteigenvalue problem. Time‐resolved studies after non‐resonant pulse excitation exhibit a relaxation ladder of the excited carriers from the GaAs barrier down to the ground state of the quantum dots. From both the continuous‐wave measurements and the PL‐decay curves we conclude that the carrier relaxation at non‐resonant excitation is mediated by Coulomb interaction (Auger effect). PL‐decay curves after resonant pulse excitation reveal a longer rise time compared to non‐resonant excitation which is a clear indication of a relaxation bottleneck inside the quantum dots. We interpret the rise time (≊ 400 ps) in this case to originate from relaxation via scattering by acoustic phonons. The PL‐decay time of the ground state emission ≊700 ps is interpreted as the excitonic lifetime of the quantum dot.

Optical transitions and carrier relaxation in self assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

Optical, crystallographic, and transport properties of nominally undoped n‐type and Zn doped p‐type Gax In1−xAs /InP (0.44<x<0.49) grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE), vapor phase epitaxy (VPE), and metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) have been studied and related to the different growth methods. Samples grown by LPE show in general much larger luminescence intensities than the VPE samples with similar impurity concentration and less structural and compositional inhomogeneities. Peaks related to free and bound excitons and to different impurities are found in the photoluminescence and absorption spectra of the undoped samples. The binding energy of the exciton is determined to be 2.1±0.1 meV, in agreement with hydrogenic theory. A longitudinal optical (LO) phonon energy of 32±0.5 meV is derived from LO‐phonon replica of the exciton line. The dependence of the energy gap at T=2 K from the solid solution composition in the range xGa =45%–49% is determined yielding a bowing parameter of C=0.475 a...

Optical and crystallographic properties and impurity incorporation of GaxIn1−xAs (0.44<x<0.49) grown by liquid phase epitaxy, vapor phase epitaxy, and metal organic chemical vapor deposition

G. F. Glinskii

Papers

Optical and crystallographic properties and impurity incorporation of GaxIn1−xAs (0.44<x<0.49) grown by liquid phase epitaxy, vapor phase epitaxy, and metal organic chemical vapor deposition