Long-wavelength sensitivity limit in MBE-grown PbSnTe:In films: Correlation with the film structure and composition

PbSnTe:In films with a long-wavelength sensitivity limit of over 20 $\mu$m and low “dark” conductivity are studied. The spectral dependences of the photoconductivity obtained at different temperatures using a Fourier spectrometer are compared with data on the film composition determined by X-ray microanalysis. The established nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the long-wavelength sensitivity limit is attributed to the combination of the temperature dependence of the PbSnTe band gap and the Burstein–Moss effect making the largest contribution to low-temperature measurements due to the long lifetime of excess charge carriers. It is shown that the difference between the band-gap values determined from the measured composition and temperature dependences of the long-wavelength sensitivity limit can be related to the inhomogeneity of the composition of the films grown by molecular beam epitaxy.