Midinfrared photoluminescence from SnTe/PbTe/CdTe double quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Molecular beam epitaxial growth and photoluminescence (PL) properties of SnTe/PbTe/CdTe double quantum wells (DQWs) on (1 0 0)-oriented GaAs substrates are reported. These DQWs were consisted of a very thin SnTe/PbTe QW nested in a 10-nm-thick PbTe/CdTe QW. Efficient midinfrared PL was observed from the DQWs at 300 K in agreement with the coherent SnTe/PbTe growth on the thick CdTe barrier layer. The PL peak wavelength of the DQWs was found to increase with the SnTe thickness d by covering a wide range of the 3–5 μm atmospheric window with d≤2.5 monolayer.