Abstract:
Lead chalcogenides are narrow gap semiconductors that had device applications in mid-infrared light sources and infrared detector arrays respectively for molecular spectroscopy and infrared imaging. However, these devices are limited to operate only at low temperatures in most cases. In recent years, much effort has been dedicated on the quest for improvement of the material system and related devices. PbTe/CdTe heterostructures that are nearly lattice-matched may be promising for both optoelectronics and spintronics. PbTe/CdTe heterostructures (QWs and QDs) have been synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy and a highly asymmetric energy band with type-I band alignment was concluded using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The realization of PbTe/CdTe quantum structures and the highly asymmetric energy band make it possible to construct asymmetric CdTe/PbTe/Pb1−xSrxTe QWs for the probe of spintronics. Contrary to HgTe/CdTe QWs, the spin-orbit interaction in the CdTe/PbTe/Pb1−xSrxTe QWs is purely Rashba and anisotropic. Rashba splittings in the asymmetric QWs with different growth orientations and electron densities was explored.
Return