Auger recombination dynamics of Hg0.795Cd0.205Te in the high excitation regime

A direct measurement of carrier recombination, far from equilibrium, in Hg0.795Cd0.205Te (N-d - N-a = 3.3 X 10(14) cm(-3)) has been made on a picosecond time scale with a pump-probe technique using a free-electron laser. Over the range of carrier densities (5 X 10(16)-3 X 10(17) cm(-3)) and at the temperatures (50-300 K) studied experimentally, contributions to the recombination from Auger, Shockley-Read-Hall, and radiative mechanisms were calculated using an analytic approximation, with carrier degeneracy included, Auger-1 (CCCH) recombination rates were calculated, which also gave the Auger-7 (CHHL) rates via a simple relationship. Excellent agreement was obtained, with Auger-1 dominant at all temperatures and, significantly, for T > 225 K when the sample is intrinsic, the Auger-7 contribution was found to be important. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics