Energy relaxation in IR laser excited Hg1-xCdxTe

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IR laser excitation of Hgl-xCdxTe by low-fluence femtosecond and high fluence microsecond pulses was explored for the technologically important alloy fractions x ∼ 0.2 and x ∼ 0.28. We have used first principles (LAPW) electronic structure calculations and finite element modelling, supported by Monte Carlo simulation for the description of femtosecond pulse carrier relaxation and the transport parameters. Laser wavelengths considered were 6.4 – 10.6 μm for x ∼ 0.2 and 3.8 – 4.8 μm for x ∼ 0.28, with an incident 1 microsecond pulse fluence of 2 J/cm2. Many energy transfer mechanisms are invoked due to the long timescales of the microsecond pulses, and a main challenge is therefore to elucidate how these interplay in situations away from thermal equilibrium. Mechanisms studied include one- and two-photon absorption (OPA and TPA) across the band gap, inter-valence band absorption (IVA) between light- and heavy hole bands, electron-hole recombination/impact ionization, band gap renormalisation, intra-band free carrier absorption (FCA), excess carrier temperatures, non-equilibrium phonon generation, and refractive index changes. In the high fluence case, lattice temperatures evolve considerably during the laser pulse in response to the heated carriers. The chosen photon energies lie just above the band gap at the starting lattice temperature of 77 K, and nonlinear effects therefore dominate as the material heats up and the band gap begins to exceed the photon energy. Because of the low photon energy we must rely on Auger recombination, inter-valence band absorption and free carrier absorption to heat the carrier plasma. Although some Hgl-xCdxTe material parameters are now relatively well known, existing data for many of the processes are inadequate for cases far away from thermal equilibrium. Furthermore, the role of Auger recombination in relation to non-intrinsic recombination has been a matter of debate lately. In this respect, information from experiments can only be interpreted correctly if the intrinsic behaviour of the material is well known, and we have therefore assumed intrinsic Hgl-xCdxTe for the present study.