Valence-band structure of wurtzite GaN including the spin-orbit interaction

We have investigated the effects of the spin-orbit interaction on the valence-band structure of wurtzite GaN in the k⋅p theory. The spin-orbit interaction is usually neglected in nitrides, which leads to three doubly degenerate bands: the heavy-hole, light-hole, and crystal-field split-off bands. In...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 1999-02, Vol.74 (8), p.1117-1119
Main Authors: Ren, G. B., Liu, Y. M., Blood, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We have investigated the effects of the spin-orbit interaction on the valence-band structure of wurtzite GaN in the k⋅p theory. The spin-orbit interaction is usually neglected in nitrides, which leads to three doubly degenerate bands: the heavy-hole, light-hole, and crystal-field split-off bands. Including the spin-orbit interaction, this degeneracy is removed to give six single bands. We obtained the Luttinger-like parameters in bulk wurtzite GaN by fitting data obtained from an empirical pseudopotential calculation obtaining a value for the parameter A7 of 93.7 meV/Å. We also used these results to calculate the valence-band structures of a GaN/AlGaN quantum well. Our result shows the spin-orbit interaction is important in GaN and associated quantum well structures.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.123461