Engineering direct-indirect band gap transition in wurtzite GaAs nanowires through size and uniaxial strain

Abstract

Electronic structures of wurtzite GaAs nanowires in the [0001] direction were studied using first-principles calculations. It was found that the band gap of GaAs nanowires experience a direct-to-indirect transition when the diameter of the nanowires is smaller than ~28 Å. For those thin GaAs nanowires with an indirect band gap, it was found that the gap can be tuned to be direct if a moderate external uniaxial strain is applied. Both tensile and compressive strain can trigger the indirect-to-direct gap transition. The critical strains for the gap-transition are determined by the energy crossover of two states in conduction bands.

arXiv comment4 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (6)

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• Predicted band structures of III-V semiconductors in wurtzite phase
• Electronic Properties of Strained Si/Ge Core-Shell Nanowires
• Strain Modulated Electronic Properties of Ge Nanowires - A First Principles Study
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