Photoluminescence dynamics of direct and indirect excitons in CdTe/ZnTe superlattices with quantum dot layers

Abstract

Photoluminescence kinetics is measured for spatially direct and indirect excitons in CdTe quantum dots excited by second harmonic radiation pulses of a picosecond Ti : sapphire laser. The width of a ZnTe barrier layer varied in the range of 2 – 12 monolayers (MLs). Since the photoluminescence decay curves are not described by a single exponential dependence, two components are analysed – fast and slow, which can be approximated by exponential functions. It is shown that in the samples with a barrier layer width of 12 and 4 MLs, the decay times for the fast component of a direct exciton and an indirect exciton are 0.4 ns and 3 μs, respectively. The long-term component is observed in both spectra. For a direct exciton, the photoluminescence decay time is 6 ns, and for an indirect exciton it is 22 μs. It is found that the recombination times for direct and indirect excitons in a sample with the barrier layer width of 2 MLs are close: in both cases the decay time for the fast component and slow component is 2 and 80 ns, respectively. Taking into account the tensile strain of the ZnTe layer and origin of the quantum well for light holes in this layer it is assumed that electrons in CdTe quantum dots interact with light holes in a ZnTe layer and generate a quasi-direct exciton because electron wave functions penetrate into the barrier.