Band offset transitivity at the InGaAs/InAlAs/InP(001) heterointerfaces

First principles calculations of the valence-band offsets at the lattice-matched In0.53Ga0.47As/ In0.52Al0.48As/InP(001) heterointerfaces, including interface strain, exhibit transitivity to within 0.01 eV. The theory is in good agreement with the experimental data and together they suggest the values ΔEv=0.35–0.41 eV for In0.53Ga0.47As/InP and 0.15–0.20 eV for In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As. The theory gives ΔEv=0.25 eV for In0.52Al0.48As/InP, in general agreement with experiment for this less studied interface.