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Title: Localization landscape theory of disorder in semiconductors. I. Theory and modeling

Journal Article · · Physical Review. B
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Ecole Polytechnique, Univ. Paris-Saclay, Palaiseau (France). Lab. of Condensed Matter Physics
  2. National Taiwan Univ., Taipei (Taiwan). Graduate Inst. of Photonics and Optoelectronics and Dept. of Electrical Engineering
  3. Ecole Polytechnique, Univ. Paris-Saclay, Palaiseau (France). Lab. of Condensed Matter Physics; Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States). Dept. of Materials
  4. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). School of Mathematics

Here, we present here a model of carrier distribution and transport in semiconductor alloys accounting for quantum localization effects in disordered materials. This model is based on the recent development of a mathematical theory of quantum localization which introduces for each type of carrier a spatial function called localization landscape. These landscapes allow us to predict the localization regions of electron and hole quantum states, their corresponding energies, and the local densities of states. We show how the various outputs of these landscapes can be directly implemented into a drift-diffusion model of carrier transport and into the calculation of absorption/emission transitions. This creates a new computational model which accounts for disorder localization effects while also capturing two major effects of quantum mechanics, namely, the reduction of barrier height (tunneling effect) and the raising of energy ground states (quantum confinement effect), without having to solve the Schrödinger equation. Finally, this model is applied to several one-dimensional structures such as single quantum wells, ordered and disordered superlattices, or multiquantum wells, where comparisons with exact Schrödinger calculations demonstrate the excellent accuracy of the approximation provided by the landscape theory.

Research Organization:
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office; French National Research Agency (ANR); Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taipei (Taiwan); Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0007096; DMS-1056004
OSTI ID:
1429093
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1352103
Journal Information:
Physical Review. B, Vol. 95, Issue 14; ISSN 2469-9950
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 66 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (20)

Universality of fold-encoded localized vibrations in enzymes journal September 2019
Optical absorption edge broadening in thick InGaN layers: Random alloy atomic disorder and growth mode induced fluctuations journal January 2018
Three dimensional simulation on the transport and quantum efficiency of UVC-LEDs with random alloy fluctuations journal October 2018
Compensation between radiative and Auger recombinations in III-nitrides: The scaling law of separated-wavefunction recombinations journal November 2019
Application of localization landscape theory and the k · p model for direct modeling of carrier transport in a type II superlattice InAs/InAsSb photoconductor system journal January 2020
Resonant photoluminescence studies of carrier localisation in c-plane InGaN/GaN quantum well structures journal April 2018
Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of the dynamics of a coupled system of free and localized carriers in AlGaN journal January 2020
Interface Roughness, Carrier Localization, and Wave Function Overlap in c -Plane ( In , Ga ) N / Ga N Quantum Wells: Interplay of Well Width, Alloy Microstructure, Structural Inhomogeneities, and Coulomb Effects journal September 2018
Impact of alloy disorder on Auger recombination in single InGaN/GaN core-shell microrods journal December 2019
Many-body localization landscape journal January 2020
Electronic structure of semiconductor nanostructures: A modified localization landscape theory journal January 2020
Switching of exciton character in double InGaN/GaN quantum wells journal October 2018
Resonant photoluminescence studies of carrier localisation in c-plane InGaN/GaN quantum well structures. text January 2018
Localization landscape theory of disorder in semiconductors. III. Application to carrier transport and recombination in light emitting diodes text January 2017
Universality of fold-encoded localized vibrations in enzymes preprint January 2019
Many-Body Localization Landscape text January 2019
The landscape law for the integrated density of states journal October 2021
Localization of eigenfunctions via an effective potential journal July 2019
Computing the eigenstate localisation length at very low energies from Localisation Landscape Theory journal June 2021
Transfer efficiency enhancement and eigenstate properties in locally symmetric disordered finite chains text January 2018

Figures / Tables (21)