VALENCE-BAND STRUCTURE OF VERY NARROW INGAAS INP QUANTUM-WELLS/

We performed valence band structure calculations on very narrow lattic e-matched GaInAs/InP quantum wells using the 6x6 Luttinger-Kohn Hamilt onian which includes the spin-orbit coupling and compared our results with those obtained with a 4x4 Hamiltonian neglecting spin-orbit effec t. We show that the spin-orbit coupling must be taken into account for very narrow quantum wells, even in the case of strain-free structures . Indeed, a simple 4x4 Hamiltonian can lead to overestimated confineme nt energies for light holes and underestimated in-plane effective mass es for both light and heavy holes.