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Size-dependent carrier dynamics and activation energy in CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots on Si substrates

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Abstract

We investigate the size-dependent carrier dynamics and activation energy in cadmium telluride/zinc telluride (CdTe/ZnTe) quantum dots (QDs) grown on silicon (Si) substrates. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra show that the excitonic peak corresponding to transitions from the ground electronic subband to the ground heavy-hole band in CdTe/ZnTe QDs shifts to a lower energy level with increasing CdTe thickness, owing to an increase in the size of the CdTe QDs. Time-resolved PL measurements performed to study the carrier dynamics reveal a longer exciton lifetime for CdTe/ZnTe QDs with increasing CdTe thickness on account of the reduction of the exciton oscillator strength resulting from a strong built-in electric field in the larger QDs. The activation energy of the electrons confined in the CdTe/ZnTe QDs, as obtained from the temperature-dependent PL spectra, increases with increasing CdTe thickness. These results indicate that the carrier dynamics and activation energy of CdTe/ZnTe QDs are affected by the size of the CdTe QDs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (Grant No. 2010–0021189).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Yonsei University, Wonju, 220-842, Korea

    Ju Hyung Lee & Jin Chul Choi

  2. Department of Physics and Research Institute for Basic Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju, 690-756, Korea

    Hong Seok Lee

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  1. Ju Hyung Lee
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  2. Jin Chul Choi
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Correspondence to Hong Seok Lee.

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Lee, J.H., Choi, J.C. & Lee, H.S. Size-dependent carrier dynamics and activation energy in CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots on Si substrates. Journal of Materials Research 28, 1466–1470 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2013.112

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