Abstract

Optoelectronic devices made from ultrathin semiconductor layers make use of novel quantum-mechanical effects that are produced by electron confinement. Understanding these effects and using them for device application requires solving Schrodinger's equation in the simplest approximation compatible with the phenomenon under consideration. I will review models for calculating the optical and electronic properties of various systems, including quantum wells, resonant tunneling structures, quantum wires, and strained heterostructures. Comparison of the models will be made in the context of one-band, two-band, and multiband approximations. Issues such as optical selection rules and oscillator strengths, type I versus type II heterosystems, direct and indirect band gaps, effective mass tailoring, non-parabolicbands, valence-band mixing, as well as issues of practical computer implementations, will be discussed.

© 1990 Optical Society of America