Hole to Electron Crossover in a (Cd,Mn)Te Quantum Well through Surface Metallization

Abstract

In this work we look into how the contact material influences the local charge properties of a p-type CdTe-based quantum well. We study five metals deposited as 10 nm layers on the sample surface: Au, Ag, Cr, Ni and Ti. We use magneto-spectroscopy to discriminate their charge states through monitoring the Zeeman shifts at singlet-triplet transitions. Most tested metals retain the original p-type of the QW, while gold and nickel coverage flips the local doping to n-type. This is attributed to a robust bonding of these two metals to the semiconductor, efficiently passivating its surface and thus improving electron diffusion from the metal to the quantum well.