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Band gap engineering of In(Ga)N/GaN short period superlattices
I Gorczyca1, T Suski2, P Strak2
1Institute of High Pressures Physics, UNIPRESS, 01-142, Warsaw, Poland. iza@unipress.waw.pl.
Scientific Reports
|November 24, 2017
Summary
First-principles calculations reveal that indium gallium nitride/gallium nitride superlattices exhibit tunable band gaps. Both electric fields and wave function hybridization significantly influence band gap behavior with layer thickness.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Quantum Mechanics
Background:
- Indium nitride/gallium nitride (InN/GaN) superlattices are crucial for optoelectronic devices.
- Understanding their electronic band structure is key to band gap engineering.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the band gap behavior of InN/GaN superlattices.
- Analyze the influence of layer thickness, strain, and geometry on band gap energy (Eg).
Main Methods:
- First-principles calculations of electronic band structures.
- Analysis of polar and nonpolar superlattices (SLs).
- Consideration of internal electric fields and wave function hybridization.
Main Results:
- Band gap is dependent on layer thickness, primarily influenced by internal electric fields (wider wells) and wave function hybridization (narrow wells).
- Calculations for In0.33Ga0.67N/nGaN SLs suggest easier fabrication.
- Calculated band gaps align with experimental data.
Conclusions:
- InN/GaN superlattices offer a wider range of band gap tunability than ternary InGaN alloys.
- Band gap engineering can be achieved by controlling layer thickness to leverage electric field or hybridization effects.
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