Calculations of hole-phonon scattering in strained-layer quantum wells

The scattering rate of holes in strained-layer quantum wells due to the interaction with the longitudinal optical (LO) phonon is calculated using a simple model. A many-body formalism is used to calculate the hole self-energy and the hole-LO-phonon linewidth with the static random phase approximation screening taken into account. The cases of both biaxial tensile and compressive strains are investigated. It is found that the linewidth of the hole-phonon scattering is larger for the tensile strain and smaller for the compressive strain than the lattice-matched case. The differences in the linewidth of the hole-LO-phonon scattering can be explained by the strain-induced effective mass changes at the zone center.