Photoluminescence characterized thermal mismatch of PbTe/CdTe single quantum wells grown on GaAs substrates

This report describes photoluminescence (PL) properties of PbTe/CdTe single quantum wells grown on (1 0 0)-oriented GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Despite the differences in crystal structure and thermal expansion coefficient between PbTe and CdTe, an intense mid-infrared emission was observed even at higher temperatures than View the MathML source. Multiple peaks, however, were found in the PL spectra, and the analysis of the PL peak energy dependence on temperature revealed an important role of the thermal mismatch.