Abstract
The band structures of wurtzite ZnO are calculated using the empirical pseudopotential method (EPM). The 8 parameters of the Zn and O atom pesudopotential form factors with Schluter's formula are obtained. The effective mass parameters are extracted by using k.p Hamiltonian to fit the EPM results. The calculated band edge energies (
E
g,
E
A,
E
B, and
E
C) at Γ point are in good agreement with experimental results. The ordering of ZnO at the top of valence band is found to be A(Γ
7)–B(Γ
9)–C(Γ
7) due to a negative spin–orbit (SO) splitting. Based on the band parameters obtained, the valence hole subbands of wurzite ZnO/Mg
x
Zn
1−
x
O tensile-strained quantum wells (QWs) with different well widths and Mg compositions are calculated using 6-band k.p method.