Nitrogen-Induced Modification of the Electronic Structure of Group III-N-V Alloys: Preprint

Incorporation of nitrogen in conventional III-V compound semiconductors to form III-N-V alloys leads to a splitting of the conduction band into two nonparabolic sub-bands. The splitting can be described in terms of an anticrossing interaction between a narrow band of localized nitrogen states and the extended conduction-band states of the semiconductor matrix. The downward shift of the lower sub-band edge is responsible for the N-induced reduction of the fundamental band-gap energy. The modification of the conduction-band structure profoundly affects the optical and electrical properties of the III-N-V alloys