ABSTRACTRecently, lattice-matched Zn0.46Cd0.54Se/ZnCdMgSe multiple-quantum-wells (MQWs) have been recognized as very promising materials to fabricate intersubband (ISB) devices such as quantum cascade lasers and mid-infrared photoconductors. These structures have important applications in biological and chemical detections. The ISB transition covers a wide mid-infrared wavelength range from 1.3 μm to a few tens of μm.In this work, two heavily doped n-Zn0.46Cd0.54Se/Zn0.24Cd0.25Mg0.51Se MQW structures have been grown on InP (001) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. Temperature dependent steady-state photoluminescence (SSPL), temperature dependent time- resolved photoluminescence (TRPL), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were performed to characterize their interband and ISB properties. These two MQW samples have similar structures except different well widths and different number of periods. The integrated SSPL intensities and the PL decay times of the MQWs were measured as functions of temperature in the range from 77 K to 290 K. The luminescence efficiency of the sample with 28 Å well width is larger than that of the sample with 42 Å well width although both samples exhibit similar temperature dependence of PL intensity. Time-resolved PL measurements show that the PL decay times of both samples decrease with increasing temperature. From 77 K to 290 K, the decay time of the sample with 28 Å well width is in the range of 440 ps ∼ 120 ps and is much longer than that of the sample with 42 Å well width, which is in the range of 65 ps ∼ 25 ps. Strong non-radiative recombinations dominate the luminescence behavior of the wider MQWs. Intersubband absorption spectra of the samples were measured by FTIR and show peak absorption at wavelengths of 3.99 μm and 5.35 μm for the MQWs with well widths of 28 Å and 42 Å, respectively, falling within the 3-5 Åm range, which is of great interest for the infrared photodetector applications.
Time-resolved photoluminescence of quaternary AlInGaN-based multiple quantum wells
