Electronic structures of III-V zinc-blende semiconductors from atomistic first principles

For analyzing quantum transport in semiconductor devices, accurate electronic structures are critical for quantitative predictions. Here we report theoretical analysis of electronic structures of all III-V zinc-blende semiconductor compounds. Our calculations are from density functional theory with the semi-local exchange proposed recently [F. Tran and P. Blaha, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 226401 (2009)], within the linear muffin tin orbital scheme. The calculated band gaps and effective masses are compared to experimental data and good quantitative agreement is obtained. Using the theoretical scheme presented here, quantum transport in nanostructures of III-V compounds can be confidently predicted.