Intrinsic electric fields and Raman spectra of III-V nitride wurtzite semiconductor heterostructures

The analysis of Raman data on semiconductor nitride heterostructures is com plicated by large intrinsic electric fields. This issue is analyzed here by calculating the Raman signal for quantum wells made from wurtzite AlN-GaN. The signature of the confine phonon modes in GaN quantum wells is calculat ed and found to be strongly effected by the intrinsic electric fields due t o lattice mismatch and the piezoelectric character of the materials. This c alculation suggests that the effects of electric fields on the electronic s tates in LII-V nitride heterostructures should be taken into account in the analysis of Raman spectra in these materials and that the application of r ealizable external electric fields would be a useful probe of these materia ls. [S0163-1829(99)02508-4].