Zn1-xCdxSe epilayers were grown on (100) GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Lattice constants of the epilayers were measured by the (004) rocking curve X-ray diffraction. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 475 to 2100 arcsec was obtained. Temperature dependence of energy gap, measured by the photoluminescence (PL) spectra, was fitted by the Varshni’s and O’Donnell’s models. Phonon energy related fitting parameters β (161K to 368K) and (13 meV to 24 meV) were obtained from the Varshni’s and O’Donnell’s fits, respectively. Activation energies calculated from the Arrhenius plot of the integrated PL show a decrease with the Cd composition. PL line-width broadening with temperature was fitted byΓ( T )=Γ0+ΓaT +ΓLO1/[exp( ħωLO1 / kT )-1] + ΓLO2/[exp( ħωLO2 / kT )-1] + Γi exp(-/ kT ). The impurity binding energy, , was found to decrease with increasing Cd composition.
ZnSe/Zn1-xCdxSe multiple quantum wells ( MQWs ) were also grown on (100) GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. Optical properties were measured by reflectivity and photoluminescence spectra. The exciton activation energy obtained from the Arrhenius plot of the integrated PL was found to decrease with ZnCdSe layer thickness. The fitting of PL line-width broadening with temperature shows a decrease in the exciton-longitudinal optical (LO) phonon coupling as the ZnCdSe well width is reduced. The impurity binding energy, , was also found to decrease with ZnCdSe thickness.