Band bowing in semiconductor alloys and superlattices
A simple effective-mass model of semiconductor alloys is used to show how the band bowing, observed as a function of alloy composition, can be described in terms of the valence- and conduction-band offsets of the constituent materials. A quantitative analysis of this correspondence enables a best set of offsets to be estimated. These are then used to obtain effective pseudo-alloy properties for superlattice materials. The results are illustrated by reference to the AlAs/GaAs system.