Higher-order nonlinear electromechanical effects in wurtzite GaN/AlN quantum dots

Bahrami-Samani, M., Patil, S.R., Melnik, R.

Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 22 (49), 495301, 2010

Abstract:

As we demonstrated earlier, conventional mathematical models based on linear approximations may be inadequate in the analysis of properties of low-dimensional nanostructures and band structure calculations. In this work, a general three-dimensional axisymmetric coupled electromechanical model accounting for lattice mismatch, spontaneous polarization and higher-order nonlinear electrostriction effects has been applied to analyze properties of GaN/AlN quantum dots coupled with wetting layer. The generalized model that accounts for five independent electrostriction coefficients has been solved numerically via a finite-element implementation. The results, exemplified for truncated conical GaN/AlN quantum dots, demonstrate that the effect of nonlinear electrostriction in GaN/AlN nanoheterostructure quantum dots could be significant. In particular, the influence of nonlinear electromechanical effects on optoelectronic properties is highlighted by the results on band structure calculations based on a multiband effective mass theory.

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