Relativistic effects on the electronic and optical characteristics of Cd1-xHgxTe alloys-based solar cell materials

First-principles analysis for the modulation of energy band gap and optical characteristics in HgTe/CdTe superlattices

“…2), when compared with the CdTe and HgTe bulk counterparts. 26 Note that the electron is always conned within the CdTe slab; this is a result of the quantum connement effect in such SLs. The electron connements are positioned in the CdTe layers that represent the CB at G 6 , whereas the hole connements in the HgTe layers describe the VB at G 8 .…”

“…Its adjustable band gap energy covers nearly the entire infrared spectrum. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] It is well known that the quantum connements in articial, low-dimensional semiconductor structures strongly modify the electronic properties, [10][11][12][13][14][15] which play a prominent role in the performance of optoelectronic devices. [3][4][5][6][7][8] The prior experimental and theoretical investigations have been mainly concentrated on type-I 9,15 or type-II SLs 30 that are made up of direct band gap or indirect band gap semiconductors.…”

“…These materials can be applied in highperformance IR detectors, primarily owing to the band gap modulation capability, unlike in other IR detector materials, such as extrinsic silicon photoconductors. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] For this reason, the telluride is imputed as a strong rival relatively to III-V materials in the optoelectronic device market.…”

“…Controlling the thickness of the HgTe and CdTe layers can aid tailor the band energy to the required value, from zero to a few hundred meV (covering the whole 3-12 mm spectrum region). [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] In addition, novel electronic effects can be produced due to the quantum connement in relatively large scale structures fabricated using Hg-based materials. Furthermore, the band gap of the SL can be tailored by incorporating a strain impact of the layers.…”

“…This could conduct to the electron-like and heavy-hole-like states in the HgTe layer and the light-hole-like states in the CdTe layer being well conned. [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][42][43][44][45][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] The fact is that the width of the band gap strongly depends on the hybridization of the interface states with the heavy-hole-like sub-bands. This implies that the interface states are signicant for examining the optical properties, such as the optical absorption, of the HgTe/CdTe SLs.…”