Size- and Temperature-control Optical Direct/indirect Band Tuning in Layered Compounds: Band Gap Engineering

The X-ray diffraction (XRD) is studied in thermally evaporated cadmium iodide (CdI2) thin films with various thicknesses. The grain size, calculated from the XRD, is found to increase with increasing the thickness of the film, while the reflectivity and refractive index decease with increasing the wavelength of the exciting light. The optical absorption spectra show both allowed direct and indirect interband transitions across a fundamental gap in CdI2. It is found that both indirect and direct band gap (Eg) decrease with increasing the thickness of the film and that the indirect Eg is lower than the direct Eg by an amount of about 0.7 eV. The direct Eg is also decreased with increasing both the grain size and temperature. However, the temperature dependence of Eg follows the Varshni relation. Our results highlight the possibility of engineering or tuning the Eg of CdI2 by controlling the thickness of the film, grain size as well as temperature.

Photoluminescence and In/Ga Intermixture in InAs/InGaAs DWELL Structures

ABSTRACTThe photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence temperature dependences have been studied in InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in the In0.15Ga1–0.15As/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) with QDs grown at different temperatures (470–535 °C). Ground state (GS) related QD PL peaks shift into the red side with increasing QD growth temperature to 510 °C and the blue shift is observed when the temperature increased to 535 °C. The temperature dependences of GS PL peak positions were fitted on the base of Varshni relation and the fitting parameters were compared with the bulk InAs and the In0.21Ga0.79As allow. This comparison has revealed that for QDs grown at 490–510 °C the PL fitting parameters are the same as for the bulk InAs crystal. The DWELL structures with QDs grown at other temperatures have fitting parameters different from the bulk InAs. Last fact testifies that in these structures the Ga/In inter-diffusion between QDs and a QW has been realized. This Ga/In intermixture can be stimulated not only by the high temperature (535 °C), but by the essential elastic stress as well in the DWELL structure with lower QD densities.