D. R. Khokhlov

Influence of electric current and magnetic field on terahertz photoconductivity in Pb 1 − x Sn x Te(In)

Photoconductivity of Pb1 − xSnxTe(In) solid solutions in the terahertz spectral range is defined by a new type of local electron states linked to the quasi-Fermi level. The paper deals with investigation of the influence of electric current and magnetic field on the amplitude of the terahertz photoconductivity in Pb1 − xSnxTe(In) alloys of different composition. It is shown that the density of local electron states responsible for the positive persistent photoconductivity decreases with increasing electric current via a sample, as well as with transition to the hole conductivity in samples with a high content of tin telluride (x > 0.26). It is found that the magnetic field dependence of the positive photoconductivity is non-monotonous and has a maximum. The maximum position in magnetic field is proportional to the terahertz radiation quantum energy. Mechanisms responsible for the effects observed are discussed.

Features in the electronic structure and photoemission spectra of organic molecular semiconductors: The molecules of metal-phthalocyanines and PTCDA

The role of many-electron effects in the formation of electronic quasiparticle spectra in organic molecular semiconductors (OMS) is analyzed. Many-body perturbation theory, ab initio calculations of metal phthalocyanines and PTCDA molecules, and experimental photoemission spectra are applied to this analysis. It is shown that density functional theory (DFT) poorly reproduces the electronic spectra of OMS. The use of a hybrid functional method (HFM) provides precise reproduction of both valence and conducting bands, while the HOMO-LUMO gap remains underestimated. The correct gap width is obtained in both DFT and HFM, when it is calculated through ionization and affinity energies. It is shown that such an approach gives a formula for gap correction due to electron correlations, which is close to an expression derived from the GW approximation.

Sensitive semiconductor detectors of terahertz radiation for spaceborne applications based on Pb 1-x Sn x Te(In)

Doping of the lead telluride and related alloys with the group III impurities results in appearance of the unique physical features of a material, such as persistent photoresponse, enhanced responsive quantum efficiency (up to 100 photoelectrons/incident photon), radiation hardness and many others. We present the physical principles of operation of the photodetecting devices based on the group III-doped IV-VI including the possibilities of a fast quenching of the persistent photoresponse, construction of the focal-plane array, new readout technique, and others. The advantages of infrared photodetecting systems based on the group III-doped IV-VI in comparison with the modern photodetectors are summarized. The spectra of the persistent photoresponse have not been measured so far because of the difficulties with screening the background radiation. We report on the observation of strong persistent photoconductivity in Pb0.75Sn0.25Te(In) under the action of monochromatic submillimeter radiation at wavelengths of 176 and 241 microns. The sample temperature was 4.2 K, the background radiation was completely screened out. The sample was initially in the semiinsulating state providing dark resistance of more than 100 GOhm. The responsivity of the photodetector is by several orders of magnitude higher than in the state of the art Ge(Ga). The red cut-off wavelength exceeds the upper limit of 220 microns observed so far for the quantum photodetectors in the uniaxially stressed Ge(Ga). It is possible that the photoconductivity spectrum of Pb1-xSnxTe(In)covers all the submillimeter wavelength range.

Terahertz Photoconductivity in Hg 1− x Cd x Te near the transition from the direct to inverted spectrum

For the Hg1−xCdxTe-based structures, it is shown that the transition from the direct to invertеd spectrum is accompanied by the sign change for the signals related to the terahertz photoconductivity and to the magnetophotogalvanic effect. Within the range of chemical compositions corresponding to the inverted spectrum, the photoconductivity kinetics exhibits specific features, which can result from the surface topological states.