Effects of boundary conditions on confined optical phonons in semiconductor nanostructures.

The dependence of physically observable quantities such as electron-phonon scattering rates on the boundary conditions for the optical phonons confined in polar semiconductor quantum wells, quantum wires, and quantum dots are examined within the dielectric continuum approach. Calculations of the confined phonons and of their contributions to the scattering rates are made using the boundary conditions of Maxwell's equations at the interfaces and the condition that the ionic displacements go to zero there. These results are compared with the results obtained using only the condition that Maxwell's equations be satisfied (the usual dielectric continuum model)