Electronic properties and strain effects in zinc blende GaN and InN

The electronic properties of wide band-gap zinc-blende structure GaN and InN are studied using the empirical pseudopotential method. Electron, hole and spin-orbit splitting effective masses are obtained, along with hydrostatic and shear deformation potentials of the valence band at Γ and those of the conduction band at Γ and X. The variation of the band gap versus strain is also obtained, showing a linear variation for the case under study. The results obtained are in good accordance with existing experimental, as well as theoretical, results published elsewhere. The investigation will be useful for the design of lattice mismatched heterostructure optoelectronic devices using these materials in applications in the range of UV to orange light.