Obtaining the effective electron mass from valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy

Valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy is used to obtain the effective electron mass, which can be regarded as a medium, correlating the electronic transport of the nanostructures of interest. In this work, using ZnO and ZnSe semiconductor nanowires as a model system, the effective electron mass has been determined by valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy and subsequent calculation. The high frequency dielectric function and the electron concentration were deduced using the Kramers–Kronig methodology. Values of the effective electron mass were calculated as 0.215 m 0 for ZnO, and 0.163 m 0 for ZnSe, respectively, both in excellent agreement with literature values.