Band structure engineering and vacancy induced metallicity at the GaAs-AlAs interface

We study the epitaxial GaAs-AlAs interface of wide gap materials by full-potential density functional theory. AlAsthin films on a GaAs substrate and GaAsthin films on an AlAs substrate show different trends for the electronic band gap with increasing film thickness. In both cases, we find an insulating state at the interface and a negligible charge transfer even after relaxation. Differences in the valence and conduction band edges suggest that the energy band discontinuities depend on the growth sequence. Introduction of As vacancies near the interface induces metallicity, which opens great potential for GaAs-AlAs heterostructures in modern electronics.