Strain induced quantum effect in semiconductors

The strain effect in semiconductor was quite often described by the continuum elastic model, whose validity is still under debate. Based on the quantum mechanical analysis, we show that if the strain changes the electron occupation of the energy levels, the continuum elastic model would fail. Our finding is demonstrated by the first-principles calculation of Mn-doped GaAs. We also predict that, for Mn-doped spintronic materials, the hole density, thus the Curie temperature TC, can be increased by compressive strain.