ABSTRACT
The III-V nitride system has compounds with the highest piezoelectric coefficients of their class. This chapter suggests that the electric field strength as a function of indium content and compared this to those field strengths expected both for currently known and theoretically calculated values of the piezoelectric constants. The luminescence mechanism of the strained InGaN/GaN quantum well system is the subject of much controversy because of the role of the electric field. Of all the III-V semiconductors, the III-nitrides have the highest piezoelectric constants in the family of tetrahedrally bonded semiconductors, and have much in common with the II-VI oxides. The chapter also suggests that the electric field strength using an electron microscope to measure the quantum well (QW) potential difference and the width of the QW. The mean iuner potential, V0, governs the potential inside the solid and is sensitive to strain, electronic and compositional influences.
