Temperature dependence of the fundamental edge of germanium and zinc-blende-type semiconductors

Abstract

We calculate the theoretical temperature dependence of the minimum of the conduction band at $k=0\mathrm{}$ for Ge, GaAs, GaSb, InSb, GaP, CdTe, ZnTe, ZnSe, and ZnS. We find results strongly dependent on the parameters describing the symmetrical part of the pseudopotential, and we show that the use of slightly different sets of pseudopotential form factors give rise to very different values for the temperature coefficient of the fundamental edge. A comparison with experimental results (piezoreflectance measurements) permits discussion of the choice of these parameters.