The electronic structure of InAs/GaSb(001) superlattices-two dimensional effects

Detailed calculations of the two dimensional effects in the electronic structure of InAs/GaSb(001)superlattices are presented for the first time. Comparison of the calculated thickness dependence of the superlattice band gap with optical absorption measurements shows that, at the Γ-point, the conduction band edge of InAs lies about 60 meV below the valence band edge of GaSb. Eigenfunctions of the highest light and heavy hole bands, and the lowest two conduction bands exhibit spatially confined nature in the GaSb and InAs regions respectively, thus establishing the two-dimensional nature of these bands. The calculated conduction band effective mass in the plane of the superlattice near the Γ-point is found to be enhanced by a factor of 2.5 over the bulk InAs value and compares very well with the appropriate mass extracted from recent magnetoresistance measurements.