Valence subbands in Ga/sub 1-x/In/sub x/As/Ga/sub 1-y/Al/sub y/As quantum wells under in-plane biaxial and uniaxial strain

Summary form only given. Anisotropic, in-plane strain is a useful tool for the study of quantum wells and for the development of opto-electronic devices. Recent advances in micromachining techniques have made it possible to create permanent, anisotropic, in-plane strain in lattice-mismatched quantum wells. Such systems show potential for device applications. Lattice-mismatched Ga/sub 1-x/In/sub x/As/Ga/sub 1-y/Al/sub y/As quantum wells were characterized because of their potential for optical applications in the near infrared. We have analyzed the valence subband structure in these quantum wells, grown along the [001] direction, focusing on the HH1, LH1,and HH2 subbands. The bandstructure calculation technique uses a local pseudopotential approach combined with Lowdin perturbation theory with the k/spl middot/p operator. Three strain cases were compared: 1) Biaxial in-plane strain with the strain shared proportionally between the well and barrier; 2) Biaxial strain under the pseudomorphic assumption, with the barrier lattice matched to the substrate and all strain in the well; 3) Uniaxial in-plane strain under the same pseudomorphic assumption.