Electron states in CdMnSe/ZnSe and in CdSe/ZnMnSe diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dots

Self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) based on II-VI compounds are interesting with regard to their electronic and optical properties due to their large scale provided by their fundamental gap. Among II-VI materials, diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) nanostructures like CdSe/ZnMnSe and CdMnSe/ZnSe QDs are of particular interest due to the exchange interaction between the spin of the carriers and the spin of the paramagnetic Mn2+ ions located in ternary alloy layers. The application of an external magnetic field at low temperature induce the so-called giant Zeemann effect of the band edges. In this work we first report the band offset calculations for zinc blende pseudomorphically strained CdSe/ZnSe interface. Then, we calculate the lowest electron states in both (Cd,Mn)Se/ZnSe and in CdSe/(Zn,Mn)Se QDs. Results show that the giant Zeeman splitting is more important when the Mn ions are inside the dot. (copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)