Empirical rule to predict heterojunction band discontinuities

We developed an empirical table of valence-band-edge energy positions for group IV, III-V, and II-VI semiconductors, referred to the valence-band edge of germanium. The energy positions listed in the table were deduced from systematic photoemission measurements of heterojunction valence-band discontinuities performed on semiconducting substrates with Si or Ge overlayers. The table can be used to estimate the valence-band discontinuities of heterojunctions between compound semiconductors, with several advantages and better accuracy with respect to the widely used twenty-year-old electron-affinity rule and to other more recent theories.