Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
First principles calculations are carried out for ZnO, MgO and ZnMgO2 in various crystal structures. The nature of the valence band ordering in ZnO is shown to depend strongly on the Zn3d band position. MgO in the wurtzitic form is found to gave an unusual 5-fold coordiated structure. The band gap dependence in the alloy system is found to be in fair agreement with experimental data and the band-offset is predicted to be type I.