Electronic band structure and optical properties of 3C--SiC, BP, and BN

The energy band structure and optical properties of the zinc-blende semiconductors $3C$-SiC, BP, and BN have been calculated using a nonlocal version of the empirical-pseudopotential method. The results of this investigation are discussed and compared to experiment. The agreement between theory and experiment is found to be very good for both SiC and BP. The BN results are quite rough, owing to some very questionable assumptions made necessary because of the scarcity of experimental data. However, the results seem to give a reasonable first approximation to the correct band structure. The effect of the nonlocal $p$ pseudopotential on these three crystals is discussed.