Inter- and intraband Coulomb interactions between holes in silicon nanostructures

We present a full derivation of the interaction Hamiltonian for holes in silicon within the six-band envelope function scheme, which appropriately describes the valence band close to the F point. The full structure of the single-hole eigenstates is taken into account, including the Bloch part. The scattering processes caused by the Coulomb interaction are shown to be both intraband and interband, the latter being mostly short-ranged. In the asymptotic long-range limit, the effective potential tends to the screened Coulomb potential and becomes purely intraband, as assumed in previous models. We apply our model to compute the excitation spectra of two interacting holes in prototypical silicon quantum dots, taking into account different dielectric environments. It is shown that, in the highly screened regime, short-range interactions (both intra-and interband) can be very relevant, while they lose importance when there is no screening other than the one proper of the bulk silicon crystal. In the latter case, we predict the formation of hole Wigner molecules.

Automated summary

This study derives the interaction Hamiltonian for holes in silicon and applies it to compute the excitation spectra of two interacting holes in silicon quantum dots. It shows that short-range interactions can be significant in a highly screened regime, while forming hole Wigner molecules when there is no screening other than that of the bulk silicon crystal.