A INTRODUCTION

We provide an overview of the main features of the band structure of InP here, with the next four Datareviews [1 4] focusing on particular aspects of the band structure. InP has a direct bandgap, with both the valence band maximum and the conduction band minimum at the centre of the Brillouin zone ( ? point). The conduction band minimum is doubly degenerate ( ? ₆ symmetry), and is separated by an energy E _o from the valence band maximum which is four-fold degenerate ( ? _g symmetry). Away from the zone centre, the highest valence bands separate into two sets of bands, referred to as the heavy-hole (HH) and light-hole (LH) bands, because of their large and small effective masses respectively. The next set of valence bands, referred to as the spin-split-off (SO) bands, also have their maximum at ?, where they are doubly degenerate (of ? ₇ symmetry), separated by an energy ? _o from the ? _g states.

The most important directions in the Brillouin zone lie along the [111] ( ?) direction, the [001] ( ?) direction and also the [110] ( ?) direction, which reach the edge of the first Brillouin zone at the L, X and K points respectively. While the conduction...