Crystal growth and analysis of ohmic contact and magneto-optical isolator properties of cadmium manganese telluride

Mythili Prakasam (1) , Oudomsack Viraphong (1) , Lionel Teulé-Gay (1) , Rodolphe Decourt (1) , Philippe Veber (1) , Encarnacion G. Villora (2) , Kiyoshi Shimamura (2)

1 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux
2 NIMS - National Institute for Materials Science

Cd_1−xMn_xTe (x=0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9) (CMT) single crystals were grown by the vertical Bridgman method. The optical studies reveal that with the increase in Mn concentration, the band gap values increase, which is attributed to s, p-d exchange interaction between the band carriers and Mn ions. Faraday rotation angle of the grown CMT (x=0.5) crystals were measured at the following wavelengths: 825, 1060 and 1575 nm. It was inferred that CMT exhibit larger Faraday effect (3-6 times larger than terbium-gallium garnet (TGG) currently used for optical isolators) making it as an efficient material for optical isolator at longer wavelengths. Field-cooled and zero field-cooled magnetizations of CMT were measured as a function of temperature and magnetic field. The spin-glass like behavior of CMT and their tendency to decrease in magnitude with increasing Mn concentration have been analyzed. The metal contacts on the Cd_1−xMn_xTe (x=0.1, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9) crystals have been made with various metals and metal alloys to establish the ohmic contact. The detector characteristics of CMT have been tested using γ-rays with 511 keV (22 Na) and 59.5 keV (241 Am).

Mots clés: Growth from melt; Bridgman technique; Magneto-optic materials; Semiconducting II-VI materials

Domaines: Matériaux

Mythili Prakasam, Oudomsack Viraphong, Lionel Teulé-Gay, Rodolphe Decourt, Philippe Veber, et al.. Crystal growth and analysis of ohmic contact and magneto-optical isolator properties of cadmium manganese telluride. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2011, 318 (1), pp.533-538. ⟨10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2010.10.210⟩. ⟨hal-00606903⟩