Electron effective mass and nonparabolicity in ${\mathrm{Ga}}_{0.47}$${\mathrm{In}}_{0.53}$As/InP quantum wells

The in-plane effective electron mass (${\mathit{m}}_{\mathrm{\parallel }}$) in narrow ${\mathrm{Ga}}_{0.47}$${\mathrm{In}}_{0.53}$As/InP quantum wells is strongly dependent on the quantization energy. Cyclotron resonance in a series of quantum wells with well widths down to 15 Å reveals a mass enhancement of up to 50% (${\mathit{m}}_{\mathrm{\parallel }}$=0.065${\mathit{m}}_0$) over the bulk value of ${\mathrm{Ga}}_{0.47}$${\mathrm{In}}_{0.53}$As. This effect is caused by the nonparabolicity of the conduction band and wave function penetration into the barrier material. Our experimental findings are in good agreement with calculations performed within the framework of k⋅p theory. We obtain an easy-to-use relation between the mass and the quantization energy ${\mathit{m}}_0$/${\mathit{m}}_{\mathrm{\parallel }}$(ε)=(1-1.96ε/eV)/0.044. © 1996 The American Physical Society.