Multiscale theory of valley splitting

Sucismita Chutia, S. N. Coppersmith, Mark Friesen

Published 2008-01-08Version 2

The coupling between $z$ valleys in the conduction band of a Si quantum well arises from phenomena occurring within several atoms from the interface, thus ruling out a theoretical description based on pure effective mass theory. However, the complexity and size of a realistic device precludes an analytical atomistic description. Here, we develop a fully analytical multiscale theory of valley coupling, by combining effective mass and tight binding approaches. The results are of particular interest for silicon qubits and quantum devices, but also provide insight for GaAs quantum wells.