Optical properties of Cd(1-x)Mn(x)Te/Cd(1-y)Mn(y)Te superlattices with high difference of Mn concentration between wells and barriers

We studied the optical properties of Cd(1–x)Mn(x)Te/Cd(1–y)Mn(y)Te semiconductor superlattices with medium (x=0.3,y=0.01) and high (x=0.8,y=0) difference of the Mn concentration between wells and barriers, by means of photoluminescence and photoreflectance spectroscopy. Photoluminescence allows us to study the emission due to the fundamental heavy (H) hole 11H interminiband excitonic transition and evidences the emission characteristics. Photoreflectance reveals several heavy and light (L) holes interminiband excitonic transitions, up to the 33H. The experiments are in good agreement with the theory with an envelope-function approximation approach, taking into account strain effects due to lattice mismatch between wells and barriers. The combined use of photoluminescence and photoreflectance gives a complete information on the electronic configuration of these Cd(1–x)Mn(x)Te/Cd(1–y)Mn(y)Te superlattices that can find specific applications in spintronic devices.