Magneto-optical effects in semimagnetic semiconductor films grown by ionized-cluster beam technique

Abstract

Epitaxial grovwth of Cd1-xMnxTe {0≥x≥l) films and superlattices was made by the ionized-cluster beam deposition technique. The magneto-optical properties in these films were studied by the magneto-circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy. The Cd1-xMnxTe films exhibit a zincblende structure even when the composition e: is beyond the bulk limit (x=0.77). In the MCD spectra of Cd1-xMnxTe films, a clear peak due to the optical transition between the spin split valence and conduction bands is observed over the whole composition range. The magneto-optical effect in Cd1-xMnxTe films is discussed in terms of a variation of the Zeeman splitting energy with the composition in a molecular field theory. For the Cd1-xMnxTe superlattices, optical transitions associated with the conduction subbands are clearly observed in the optical absorption and MCD spectra. The magneto-optical properties of the superlattices are explained both by the Zeeman splitting energy of subband levels and by the oscillator strength of subband transitions, which are significantly affected by the quantum size effect.