Electrostriction in GaN/AlN heterostructures

A one-dimensional model accounting for electrostriction, lattice mismatch, piezoelectricity, and strain is presented with special emphasis on GaN/AlN heterostructures recently examined extensively in the literature. It is shown that electrostriction, being a second-order effect in the strain–electric field relation, plays a significant, sometimes dominant contribution subject to DC voltage conditions and externally imposed hydrostatic pressure. Model results are based on experimentally reported values for electrostriction coefficients in GaN.