Condensed Matter Physics
ELECTRON ENERGY SUB BANDS IN SEMICONDUCTOR SUPERLATICCES (SSLs)
Gabriel A. Altay
Shang-Fen Ren*
Department of Physics
Illinois State University
Normal, IL, 61761
Email: gaalta2@ilstu.edu
Abstract

Semiconductors have radically changed the way people live in the last fifty years. Using new materials and construction techniques, scientists and engineers have been able to advance the level of technology in electronic devices of all kinds. The shape of the quantum wells and barriers associated with a semiconductor superlattice (SSL) determine many of its properties. The electron energy sub-bands in the wells are related to transport, tunneling, optical excitation and recombination processes in the material. Rapid development of the Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) technique has allowed technicians to grow SSLs with layers accurate to one atomic radius. This allows the design of materials with precise quantum well and barrier shapes that are specific to certain applications. Using the envelope function approximation and a computer program developed by myself, I was able to calculate the electron energy sub-bands of a GaAs/Ga1-xAlxAs SSL.

References:
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