Growth, optical, and optoelectronic properties of CdZnTe/ZnTe multiple quantum wells

Abstract The use of molecular beam epitaxy has allowed growth of CdZnTe/ZnTe quantum wells with optical properties that match those of well-established infrared III-V quantum well systems. The sharp room temperature exciton absorption peaks that these II to VI quantum wells exhibit have been used in image processing devices and electroabsorption modulators operating at visible wavelengths. The large exciton-binding energy, very large saturation intensity, and strong exciton-LO phonon coupling exert a major influence on both the device characteristics and the basic physical properties of these films. The progress in these quantum wells has been achieved despite complications in the growth that result from the large lattice mismatches and the proximity, for many CdZnTe compositions, to a miscibility gap.