Pulsed laser deposition of Cd1-xMnxTe thin films

Cd1-xMnxTe films (0.5-0.6 μm) were deposited on sapphire and silicon substrates by XeCl laser ablation of targets with different Mn content (x=0.05, 0.36 and 0.43). Energy dispersive spectroscopy and optical transmission measurements in the 200-3500 nm range were performed to evaluate the film composition and band-gap energy. The film stoichiometry resulted in quite good agreement with one of their relative targets. Scanning electron microscopy inspection showed that the surface morphology is good for films with low Mn concentration (x=0.05), but it deteriorates with increasing Mn concentration. From photoluminescence spectroscopy only the peak at ∼2.0 eV, associated to the Mn2+4T1→6A1 transition, was detected in samples with x≥0.36