ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE SHEAR DEFORMATION POTENTIAL OFTHE VALENCE-BAND IN III-V SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM-WELLS

We present an alternative method for determining the shear deformation potential b of the valence band in III-V semiconductors. Instead of b ulk semiconductors we use quantum well structures and apply uniaxial s tress perpendicular to tile growth direction. Using analytical solutio ns we show that the first confined hole state has a pronounced and cha racteristic nonlinear energy shift. with respect to stress. This allow s the hydrostatic and shear deformation potentials a and b to be deter mined independently from the stress dependence of the bandgap only, wh ich can be measured by a wider range of experimental techniques than t hose necessary for obtaining deformation potentials from bulk material . Measurements on a (GaAs)(10)/(AlAs)(10) superlattice yielded a value for b which is in good agreement with recent results from bulk measur ements and hence support the validity of our proposed method.