The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	A theoretical study of the subband structures and tunneling in polytype heterostructures
Author:	Chen, Hong
View Online:	njit-etd1992-061 (x, 53 pages ~ 1.4 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Physics
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Applied Physics
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Chin, Ken K. (Committee chair) Hansel, John C. (Committee member) Savin, William (Committee member)
Date:	1992-10
Keywords:	Semiconductors Quantum wells Superlattices as materials Tunneling (Physics) Microstructure
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	A theoretical study of the electronic and optical properties in polytype heterostructures is presented in this thesis. In the first part of the thesis (Chap. 2 and Chap. 3), an explicit expression for calculating the subband structure and tunneling is formulated by the incorporation of the envelope function approximations and the transfer matrix technique. It is based on the k*p theory as done to date, but contains two significant improvements: a more realistic treatment of the spatial and energetic dependance of effective masses and band edges; the availability of the calculations, in favor of direct numerical evaluation, to various quantum well structures composed of complicated bases. The second part of the thesis is devoted to applications of the theoretical approach. A computer program written in Fortran-77 is used to calculate the subband structures and tunneling coefficients for various polytype quantum well structures. From such calculations, the feasibilities of quantum well infrared laser for some special designed structures are studied by considerations of population inversion and the different relaxation mechanisms of the carriers.