On the estimation of matrix elements for optical transitions in semiconductors

A semi-empirical method is used to calculate the numerical values of the interband momentum matrix elements of the allowed optical transitions in semiconductors. This method is based on the evaluation of the ratio of the two-photon and one-photon absorption coefficients and the compare the result with the corresponding experimental values in a number of semiconductors both for direct and indirect transition processes. The numerical values of the momentum matrix elements are compared with the convenient theoretical calculations available. The result is found to agree fairly well with the corresponding values computed using the k-vector · p-vector perturbation theory. (author). 19 refs, 2 figs, 2 tabs