X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and theory of the valence band and semicore Ga 3<i>d</i>states in GaN

Abstract

The effects of the Ga 3d semicore levels on the electronic structure of GaN are discussed. While band-structure theory using the local-density approximation predicts these states to overlap with the N 2s band and to have important effects on the total energy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that they occur \ensuremath{\sim}3 eV below the N 2s band. This apparent discrepancy is resolved by means of a so-called \ensuremath{\Delta} SCF or difference of self-consistent-fields calculation, in which the binding energy is calculated as a total-energy difference including solid state screening effects by means of the excited-atom model. The calculated valence-band densities of states are found to be in good agreement with the XPS spectrum. The differences between zinc blende and wurtzite GaN are discussed.