Band structure of a periodic quantum wire array

The electron energy spectrum of a quantum-wire array consisting of an interface-corrugated quantum well is studied. It is calculated for actual structures with periodic well-width variation by the numerical diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix. Then a one-dimensional effective-potential model is developed, which can reproduce the energy spectrum almost exactly even when the quantum well becomes very thin. A self-consistent calculation shows that the Coulomb potential has only a trivial influence on the band structure. In the absence of a magnetic field, the subband structure, Fermi surface geometry, density of states, and the cyclotron effective mass are obtained. In a high magnetic field a magnetic miniband structure is present but its width is negligibly small near the Fermi level in systems currently accessible experimentally.