I. V. Kucherenko

Raman spectra of structures with CdTe-, ZnTe-, and CdSe-based quantum dots and their relation to the fabrication technology

Quantum-dot structures based on the CdTe, ZnTe, and CdSe semiconductors are prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy, colloid chemistry methods, and ball milling, and their Raman spectra are studied. Localized longitudinal phonons are observed in all spectra. The dependence of the localized phonon frequency on the thickness of the ZnTe barrier in CdTe/ZnTe quantum-dot superlattices is used to derive the dispersion relation for longitudinal phonons in ZnTe. The Raman spectra of ensembles of colloidal quantum dots differ from the spectra of the other objects by the absence of tellurium bands and a strong intensity of the longitudinal phonon band of CdTe. It is revealed that the spectra depend on the technology employed to prepare quantum-dot structures.

IR-active vibrational modes of CdTe and CdSe colloidal quantum dots and CdTe/CdSe core/shell nanoparticles and coupling effects

The frequencies of the vibrational modes of CdTe and CdSe quantum dots and CdTe/CdSe core/shell nanoparticles prepared by the colloid chemistry method are determined using IR transmission and IR reflection spectroscopy. The experimental IR transmission spectrum of CdTe and CdSe nanocrystals exhibits a broad minimum located between the frequencies of the transverse optical (TO) and longitudinal optical (LO) phonons of bulk CdTe and CdSe crystals. The frequencies of the modes for ensembles of CdTe and CdSe quantum dots are considerably shifted toward lower frequencies as compared to those calculated for single quantum dots. This is explained by the dipole-dipole interaction between quantum dots. The frequencies of modes for the structures with core/shell nanoparticles differ little from the calculated frequencies. This suggests a weakening of the interaction in these structures due to the enhancement of dielectric screening.

The role of interdiffusion and spatial confinement in the formation of resonant raman spectra of Ge/Si(100) heterostructures with quantum-dot arrays

The phonon modes of self-assembled Ge/Si quantum dots grown by molecular-beam epitaxy in an apparatus integrated with a chamber of the scanning tunneling microscope into a single high-vacuum system are investigated using Raman spectroscopy. It is revealed that the Ge-Ge and Si-Ge vibrational modes are considerably enhanced upon excitation of excitons between the valence band Λ3 and the conduction band Λ1 (the E1 and E1 + Δ1 transitions). This makes it possible to observe the Raman spectrum of very small amounts of germanium, such as one layer of quantum dots with a germanium layer thickness of ≈10 Å. The enhancement of these modes suggests a strong electron-phonon interaction of the vibrational modes with the E1 and E1 + Δ1 excitons in the quantum dot. It is demonstrated that the frequency of the Ge-Ge mode decreases by 10 cm−1 with a decrease in the thickness of the Ge layer from 10 to 6 Å due to the spatial-confinement effect. The optimum thickness of the Ge layer for which the size dispersion of quantum dots is minimum is determined.

Raman scattering and hot luminescence spectra of Zn1 − xMnxTe quantum wires

The Raman scattering and luminescence spectra of Zn1 − xMnxTe (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.6) quantum wires have been investigated. The quantum wires have been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on the (100)GaAs substrate with Au used as a catalyst. The spectrum of optical phonons in ZnMnTe quantum wires varies with a variation in x in accordance with an intermediate (between one- and two-mode) type of transformation. The optical phonon spectrum has been analyzed in terms of the microscopic theory. It has been demonstrated that the experimental data can be brought in accord with the theory by properly modifying the calculated density of phonon states for ZnTe. The spatial confinement has been found to affect the electronic states in Zn1 − xMnxTe quantum wires.

Low-frequency optical spectra of lattice vibrations of the Hg1−x ZnxTe alloy

The paper reports on assignment of lattice reflection spectra of the Hg1−xZnx Te alloys (x = 0.10, 0.35, and 0.55) measured in the 40–300-K temperature interval and on a comparative analysis of the lattice vibration parameters for two alloy systems, HgZnTe and HgCdTe, in the low-frequency optical vibration region (the region of the anomalous Hg-Te vibrational mode in HgTe). While the parameters of the fundamental lattice modes are closely similar, the temperature dependences of the low-frequency modes of the two alloy systems are radically different. Their thermal activation energies for the HgZnTe and HgCdTe alloys are 3.3 and 50.0 meV, respectively. The results of the experiment are treated in terms of the double-well potential model for the Hg atom in the alloy lattice.

Photoluminescence and exciton resonances over the scattered light in multiphonon spectra of resonant scattering in the CdTe/ZnTe superlattices with narrow quantum wells

Photoluminescence and Raman scattering spectra in CdTe/ZnTe heterostructures and superlattices with narrow quantum wells (4.8–9.2 Å) in a temperature range of 5–300 K have been measured. The temperature dependences of the intensity of exciton luminescence in isolated quantum wells have been studied, and the thermal activation energies associated with the effective barriers for electrons and holes have been determined. In CdTe/ZnTe heterostructures, the binding energies of an exciton with a heavy hole have been determined as functions of the quantum well width. The multiphonon Raman spectra that exhibit distinctive features, such as the weak intensity of nLO phonon lines of ZnTe (n < 8), the absence of their dependence on the number n (n > 2), and the multiple participation in scattering of acoustic LA phonons with large wave vector, have been investigated. The results have been explained based on the concept of the relaxation of hot excitons over the exciton band.

Optical phonons in the bulk and on the surface of ZnO and ZnTe/ZnO nanowires in Raman spectra

Raman spectra of ZnO and core-shell ZnTe/ZnO nanowires have been measured under conditions of nonresonant and resonant excitations by Ar+ and He-Cd lasers. The optical vibration frequencies that are characteristic of the wurtzite structure of ZnO crystals have been determined. The Raman-active longitudinal optical (LO) phonons in all the studied structures have a mixed A1 and E1 symmetry. Surface optical modes with frequencies of 460–470 cm−1 have been found. Surface optical modes of single-layer nanowires have been analyzed using the calculation performed in the previous work by P.M. Chassaing and his colleagues, and those of double-layer nanowires have been analyzed in terms of the expressions obtained in the present work. The size of heterogeneities of the nanowires along their axis has been determined.

Manifestation of the composition inhomogeneity of Zn1 − xMgxTe quantum wires in Raman spectra

The resonant Raman spectra of Zn1 − xMgxTe quantum wires have been investigated. The dependences of the frequencies of longitudinal optical phonons of the ZnTe-like and MgTe-like modes (LO1 and LO2) on the photon energy have been found. The character of these dependences correlates with the variation in the frequencies of optical phonons of the Zn1 − xMgxTe alloys on the composition (x). This gives grounds to assume that the quantum wires are inhomogeneous in the composition. This assumption is also confirmed by the fact that the intensity ratio of the LO2 and LO1 modes in the Raman spectra increases with increasing excitation energy.

Influence of the thickness of CdTe and ZnTe layers on cathodoluminescence spectra of strained CdTe/ZnTe superlattices with quantum-dot layers

The influence of the thickness of ZnTe barrier layers on the cathodoluminescence spectra of strained CdTe/ZnTe superlattices containing layers of quantum dots with an average lateral size of approximately 3 nm has been investigated. In samples with thick barrier layers (30, 15 nm), the cathodoluminescence spectra of quantum dots exhibit one band with a maximum at E = 2.03 eV. It has been revealed that, at a barrier layer thickness of ∼3 nm, the luminescence band is split. However, at a ZnTe layer thickness of 1.5 nm, the luminescence spectrum also contains one band. The experimental results have been interpreted with allowance made for the influence of elastic biaxial strains on the energy states of light and heavy holes in the CdTe and ZnTe layers. For the CdTe/ZnTe heterostructure with quantum dots in which the thickness of the deposited CdTe layer is 1.5 monolayers and the thickness of the barrier layer is 100 monolayers, the cathodoluminescence spectrum contains 2LO-phonon replicas. This effect has been explained by the resonance between two-phonon LO states and the difference between the energy states in the electronic spectrum of wetting layer fragments.

IR-active vibrational modes of CdTe, CdSe, and CdTe/CdSe colloidal quantum dot ensembles

The frequencies of the vibrational modes of CdTe and CdSe quantum dots and CdTe/CdSe core/shell nanoparticles prepared by the colloidal chemistry method are determined using IR transmission and IR reflection spectroscopy. The experimental IR transmission spectrum of CdTe and CdSe nanocrystals exhibits a broad minimum located between the frequencies of the transverse (TO) and longitudinal (LO) optical phonons of bulk CdTe and CdSe crystals. The frequencies of the modes for ensembles of CdTe and CdSe quantum dots are considerably shifted toward lower frequencies as compared to those calculated for single quantum dots. This is explained by the dipole-dipole interaction between quantum dots. The frequencies of modes for the structures with core/shell nanoparticles differ little from the calculated frequencies. This suggests a weakening of the interaction in these structures due to the enhancement of dielectric screening.