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6CCVD Research

Unified theory of direct or indirect band-gap nature of conventional semiconductors

At a Glance

Section titled “At a Glance”
MetadataDetails
Publication Date2018-12-26
JournalPhysical review. B./Physical review. B
AuthorsLin‐Ding Yuan, Hui‐Xiong Deng, Shu‐Shen Li, Su‐Huai Wei, Jun‐Wei Luo
InstitutionsUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Computational Science Research Center
Citations122

Abstract

Section titled “Abstract”

Although the direct or indirect nature of the bandgap transition is an\nessential parameter of semiconductors for optoelectronic applications, the\nunderstanding why some of the conventional semiconductors have direct or\nindirect bandgaps remains ambiguous. In this Letter, we revealed that the\nexistence of the occupied cation d bands is a prime element in determining the\ndirectness of the bandgap of semiconductors through the s-d and p-d couplings,\nwhich push the conduction band energy levels at the X- and L-valley up, but\nleaves the {\Gamma}-valley conduction state unchanged. This unified theory\nunambiguously explains why Diamond, Si, Ge, and Al-containing group III-V\nsemiconductors, which do not have active occupied d bands, have indirect\nbandgaps and remaining common semiconductors, except GaP, have direct bandgaps.\nBesides s-d and p-d couplings, bond length and electronegativity of anions are\ntwo remaining factors regulating the energy ordering of the {\Gamma}-, X-, and\nL-valley of the conduction band, and are responsible for the anomalous bandgap\nbehaviors in GaN, GaP, and GaAs that have direct, indirect, and direct\nbandgaps, respectively, despite the fact that N, P, and As are in ascending\norder of the atomic number. This understanding will shed light on the design of\nnew direct bandgap light-emitting materials.\n

Tech Support

Section titled “Tech Support”

Original Source

Section titled “Original Source”

References

Section titled “References”
  1. 2005 - Fundamentals of Semiconductors: Physics and Materials Properties [Crossref]
  2. 2012 - Physics of Photonic Devices
  3. 2012 - Diode Lasers and Photonic Integrated Circuits [Crossref]
  4. 2005 - Elementary Electronic Structure

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