Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Heteroepitaxy of semiconductor materials has introduced whole new classes of electronic and optical devices as well as new physical phenomena. Heteroepitaxy always introduces stress in some or all of the deposited material. The resulting strain changes the bandgap of the materials in which it occurs, and changes the conduction and valence band offsets relative to neighboring materials. In all instances studied so far, the effects of strain can be calculated accurately using continuum stressstrain relationships developed for homogeneous, bulk materials.