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The unusual N-induced band formation and band structure of Ga(N, As) and (Ga, In)(N, As) alloys are also reflected in the electronic structure of quantum wells (QWS) and device structures containing these non-amalgamation-type alloys. This review is divided into three parts. The first part deals with band structure aspects of bulk Ga(N, As) and motivates the possibility of a k•p-like parameterization of the band structure in terms of the level repulsion model between the conduction band edge of the host and a localized N-level. The second part presents experimental studies of interband transitions in Ga(N, As)/GaAs and (Ga, In)(N, As)/GaAs QW structures addressing band offsets, electron effective mass changes and an intrinsic mechanism contributing to the blueshift of the (Ga, In)(N, As) band gap on annealing. The observed interband transitions can be well described using a ten-band k•p model based on the level repulsion scheme. The third part deals with (Ga, In)(N, As)-based laser devices. The electronic structure of the active region of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser and edge-emitter laser structures is studied by modulation spectroscopy. The gain of such structures is measured by optical methods and analysed in terms of a model combining the ten-band k•p description of the band structure and generalized Bloch equations.

The absorption and gain for an InGaNAs/GaAs quantum-well structure is calculated and compared to that of a more conventional InGaAs/InGaPAs structure, both lasing in the 1.3 μm range. Despite significant differences in the band structures, the gain value is comparable for high carrier densities in both structures and the transition energy at the gain maximum shows a similar blueshift with increasing carrier density. For low and intermediate carrier densities, the calculated gain in the InGaPAs system is significantly lower and the bandwidth smaller than in the InGaNAs system.

This paper describes a method for calculating gain spectra of quantum well laser structures. The approach is based on the Semiconductor Bloch equations, with Coulomb correlation effects treated at the level of quantum kinetic theory in the Markovian limit. Results obtained from applying this method to an InGaN quantum well laser are presented.

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