Acceptor-bound magnetic polarons inCd1−xMnxTe

Abstract

Photoluminescence measurements have been used to determine bound magnetic polaron energies in intentionally doped, high-purity p-type ${\mathrm{Cd}}_{1\mathrm{-}\mathrm{x}}$ ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{\mathrm{x}}$Te samples. The binding energy of acceptor-bound magnetic polarons has been found to increase with Mn content in the alloy up to about x=0.2. Beyond this value the polaron energy saturates with increasing x, as a result of the antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$-${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$ interactions. This behavior and the values of polaron binding energy are in agreement with the predictions of phenomenological polaron theory, which uses the measured high-field magnetization of the host crystal as an input to determine the ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$ response.