Heterojunction band offset engineering

Control of band discontinuities in semiconductor heterostructures may introduce a new important degree of freedom in the design of heterojunction devices and allow independent optimization of carrier injection, carrier confinement and ionization thresholds in high speed and optoelectronic devices. We will review recently proposed methods to microscopically control heterojunction parameters by means of local interface dipoles introduced at the heterointerface during growth. A parallel survey of new theoretical models of semiconductor heterojunctions will illustrate our newfound ability to derive from first principles rules of heterojunction behavior. The combination of new empirical methods and theoretical models is establishing the new area of heterojunction engineering in surface and interface science.