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GaN/AℓxGa1-xN Wurtzite Semiconductor Superlattices

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Abstract

A theory of electronic structures of NGaNxNAℓGaN GaN/AℓxGa1-xN wurtzite semiconductor superlattices (grown in the direction of the c-axis) is developed and used to predict the superlattices’ band structures, energy gaps, and the “deep” energy levels of substitutional s- and p-bonded defects in them. In addition, the valence band offset of GaN with respect to AℓN, the one adjustable parameter of the theory, is determined to be about 0.4 times the total fundamental band-gap difference, by fitting the optical data for the superlattices’ fundamental band gaps as a function of the layer thicknesses NGaN and NAℓN, with the valence band edge of AℓN being at lower energy.

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Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the U. S. Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Contract Nos. N00014-92-J-1425 and AFOSR-91-0418) for their generous support. We thank W. M. Hu for assistance with the graphics.

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  1. Shang Yuan Ren

    Present address: Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287-1504, U.S.A.

    Shang Yuan Ren & John D. Dow

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Yuan Ren, S., Dow, J.D. GaN/AℓxGa1-xN Wurtzite Semiconductor Superlattices. MRS Online Proceedings Library 281, 775–780 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-281-775

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