Electronic structure of PbTe near the band gap

Abstract

Existing experimental data for the electronic band parameters of the conduction and valence bands of PbTe are analyzed and compared using a multiband model electron dispersion relation. The model permits the identification of inconsistencies among the data and the derivation of an improved set of band parameters. Among the principal conclusions are (i) the most commonly used value of the transverse-conduction-bandedge effective mass is too large; (ii) the conduction- and valence-band mass anisotropy ratios vary only weakly with carrier concentration, in contradiction to much of the early data for $p-\mathrm{PbTe}$; (iii) existing theoretical calculations of the far-band contributions to the conduction- and valence-band-edge effective masses are not in very good agreement with experiment.