Conduction band offset and electron effective mass in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum-well structures with low nitrogen concentration

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Abstract
We have investigated the optical transitions in Ga1-yInyNxAs1-x/GaAs single and multiple quantum wells using photovoltaic measurements at room temperature. From a theoretical fit to the experimental data, the conduction band offset Q(c), electron effective mass m(e){*}, and band gap energy E-g were estimated. It was found that the Q(c) is dependent on the indium concentration, but independent on the nitrogen concentration over the range x=(0-1)\%. The m(e){*} of GaInNAs is much greater than that of InGaAs with the same concentration of indium, and increases as the nitrogen concentration increases up to 1\%. Our experimental results for the m(e){*} and E-g of GaInNAs are quantitatively explained by the two-band model based on the strong interaction of the conduction band minimum with the localized N states. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics