Opto-electronic properties of the ternary alloy Hg1-xCdxTe

The theoretical electronic densities of states for both the valence and con duction bands are presented for the tetrahedral semiconductors CdTe, HgTe a nd their alloy Hg0.5Cd0.5Te based on band structures computed using the emp irical pseudopotential method. For the ternary alloy HgCdTe, we have couple d the virtual crystal approximation with the pseudopotential method. Variou s quantities such as the energy levels, the refractive index and the transv erse effective charge are calculated. The spin-orbit splitting is included in our calculations. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.