Electronic and Optoelectronic Properties of Semiconductor Structures

Abstract

A graduate textbook presenting the underlying physics behind devices that drive today's technologies. The book covers important details of structural properties, bandstructure, transport, optical and magnetic properties of semiconductor structures. Effects of low-dimensional physics and strain - two important driving forces in modern device technology - are also discussed. In addition to conventional semiconductor physics the book discusses self-assembled structures, mesoscopic structures and the developing field of spintronics. The book utilizes carefully chosen solved examples to convey important concepts and has over 250 figures and 200 homework exercises. Real-world applications are highlighted throughout the book, stressing the links between physical principles and actual devices. Electronic and Optoelectronic Properties of Semiconductor Structures provides engineering and physics students and practitioners with complete and coherent coverage of key modern semiconductor concepts. A solutions manual and set of viewgraphs for use in lectures are available for instructors, from solutions@cambridge.org.

Controllable deformation of silicon nanowires with strain up to 24%

“…Previously proposed methods to introduce strain typically rely on the deposition of lattice mismatched layers, a method which can incorporate only a few percent of strain, and which is fixed at fabrication time. 10,11 In contrast, the method present in this work allows for the incorporation of several tens of percent of strain as well as being fully tunable and reversible.…”

“…Other static deformation methods-such as pseudomorphic growth-lack the ability to reversibly tune the amount of strain in the pillars once they have been patterned, and cannot achieve strain Ͼ2-3%. 10,11 Given its influence on electronic as well as optical properties, [11][12][13] methods to accurately control strain are becoming increasingly important in modern devices.…”

Correlation in narrow nanorods: a variational potential–configuration interaction scheme

“…Often, they are modeled as local perturbations of the periodic crystal field of semiconductor surrounding matrix, using envelope function and effective mass approximations to describe their electronic structure. [1,2] Within this approach the details of the unit cell are integrated out, so that only a macroscopic (or envelope) description of the system remains. Thus, the interaction between conduction electrons and atomic core electrons and nuclei is averaged as the interaction with a continuous polarizable medium.…”

Buried stressors in nitride semiconductors: Influence on electronic properties

“…In general, strain-induced phenomena have a large impact on electronic properties of semiconductors 1,2 The conduction and valence band levels and the band gap can be modified by strain. Strain-induced piezoelectric polarization charges lead to electrostatic fields of a magnitude ͑MV/cm͒ that cannot be neglected in nitride semiconductors.…”

“…Originally, the confinement was attributed to the size effect on the carrier wave functions placed in three-dimensional potential boxes. 2,8 In addition, it was pointed out that due to the crystal lattice mismatch between the materials of QD and surrounding matrix, considerable elastic strains can be generated inside a QD. 9,10 Such intrinsic strains contribute to the modification of semiconductor band structure via the deformation potentials.…”