Synthesis and optical properties of II-O-VI highly mismatched alloys

Abstract

We have synthesized ternary and quaternary diluted II-VI oxides using the combination of O ion implantation and pulsed laser melting. CdO{sub x}Te{sub 1-x} thin films with x up to 0.015, and the energy gap reduced by 150 meV were formed by O{sup +}-implantation in CdTe followed by pulsed laser melting. Quaternary Cd{sub 0.6}Mn{sub 0.4}O{sub x}Te{sub 1-x} and Zn{sub 0.88}Mn{sub 0.12}O{sub x}Te{sub 1-x} with mole fraction of incorporated O as high as 0.03 were also formed. The enhanced O incorporation in Mn-containing alloys is believed to be due to the formation of relatively strong Mn-O bonds. Optical transitions associated with the lower (E{sub -}) and upper (E{sub +}) conduction subbands resulting from the anticrossing interaction between the localized O states and the extended conduction states of the host are clearly observed in these quaternary diluted II-VI oxides. These alloys fulfill the criteria for a multiband semiconductor that has been proposed as a material for making high efficiency, single-junction solar cells