Theoretical study of room temperature optical gain in GaN strained quantum wells

The determination of gain properties in group III nitride quantum wells is complicated by the incomplete knowledge of band structure properties, and the need for a consistent treatment of many-body Coulomb effects. This letter describes an approach that involves a first-principles band structure calculation, the results of which are incorporated into a microscopic laser theory where many-body Coulomb effects are treated in a consistent manner. Using this approach, we investigate quantum well structures composed of alloys of GaN, AlN, and InN, in particular, GaN-AlInN, which has high confinement potentials in both strained and unstrained configurations. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.