Optical properties of Cd0.6Mn0.4Te/Cd0.5Mg0.5Te quantum-well structures

Emission spectra of three Cd0.6Mn0.4Te/Cd0.5Mg0.5Te superlattices with Cd0.6Mn0.4Te quantum-well (QW) widths of 7, 13, and 26 monolayers, respectively, and the same thickness (46 monolayers) of the Cd0.5Mg0.5Te barriers have been studied. The QW width affects the shape and spectral position of the Mn2+ intracenter luminescence (IL) band as a result of the crystal field being dependent on the position of the manganese ion with respect to the interface. Measured in identical experimental conditions, the exciton luminescence as compared to the IL is substantially higher in intensity in a QW than in a bulk CdMnTe crystal. Some samples of superlattices and bulk crystals exhibit, in addition to the conventional IL band near 2.0 eV, a weaker band at about 1.45 eV. This band apparently derives from intracenter transitions in the Mn2+ ions in the regions where the crystal lattice has the rock-salt rather than the conventional zinc blende structure. (C) 2004 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".