Infrared absorption measurement and analysis of HgTe–CdTe superlattices

The near-band-gap optical properties of superlattice are essential in determining the usefulness of these structures for application in infrared systems. In this paper we report on studies of a HgTe–CdTe superlattice. The optical characterization of the superlattice in the infrared was carried out by measuring its photoluminescence, transmission, and photoconductivity spectra. Results of these measurements as functions of temperature are presented, as are the theoretically calculated absorption spectra. We obtained good agreement between different measurement techniques and the theoretical model for the optical absorption and band gap