Deriving k.p parameters from full-Brillouin-zone descriptions: A finite-element envelope function model for quantum-confined wurtzite nanostructures

We present a multiband envelope-function model for wurtzite nanostructures based on a rigorous numerical procedure to determine operator ordering and band parameters from nonlocal empirical pseudopotential calculations. The proposed approach, implemented within a finite-element scheme, leads to well-posed, numerically stable envelope equations that accurately reproduce full-Brillouin-zone subband dispersions of quantum systems. Although demonstrated here for III-nitride nonlocal empirical pseudopotentials, the model provides a general theoretical framework applicable to ab initio electronic structures of wurtzite semiconductors.