Electronic states in nitride semiconductor quantum dots: A tight-binding approach

We investigate the electronic properties of a lens-like InN/GaN QD with a wurtzite structure within a tight-binding (TB) model. The TB approach provides a theoretical description of these structures on a microscopic level. An sp(3)-TB model is used which well-reproduces the band structure of the bulk material. The resulting parameters are used as an input to model the low dimensional heterostructure. Wurtzite nitrides exhibit a (spontaneous) polarization P which leads to the appearance of an electrostatic potential V-p. We incorporate the potential V-p in our TB model to examine the influence on the energy levels and the single particle wave functions for the investigated QD structure. (c) 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.