Feature Article - Semiconductor Superlattices with Small Band Offsets

• Authors: G. Yang , L. Lewandowski , J. Furdyna , L. Ram-Mohan
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Optical transitions in small band offset superlattices are studied within the framework of the nearly free electron approximation, in which the weak superlattice potential is treated as a perturbation. Interband selection rules are derived for transitions involving conduction and valence band states at the superlattice Brillouin zone center and the zone edge. It is found that a number of new transitions can occur in such small-offset superlattices due to wave function mixing of different subband states. The effect of the effective mass on the optical transitions is also discussed. The theory is used to explain the results observed in magneto-optical absorption experiment in ZnSe/Zn_{1-x}Mn_{x}Se small-offset superlattices. Furthermore, the nearly free electron formulation is found to be in excellent agreement with rigorous multi-band numerical calculation on superlattices involving small band offsets.

Keywords

EN

78.66.-w

Discipline

• 78.66.-w: Optical properties of specific thin films(for optical properties of low-dimensional, mesoscopic, and nanoscale materials, see 78.67.-n; for optical properties of surfaces, see 78.68.+m)

• Publisher: Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Acta Physica Polonica A
• Year: 1998
• Volume: 93
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 567-600

Dates

published

1998-04

received

1997-07-16

(unknown)

1997-12-18

Contributors

author

G. Yang

• Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA

author

L. Lewandowski

• Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA

author

J. Furdyna

• Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA

author

L. Ram-Mohan

• Departments of Physics, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA

Identifiers

DOI

10.12693/APhysPolA.93.567