Optical phonons in PbTe/CdTe multilayer heterostructures

The infrared reflection spectra of PbTe/CdTe multilayer nanostructures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy are measured in the frequency range of 20–5000 cm$^{-1}$ at room temperature. The thicknesses and high-frequency dielectric constants of the PbTe and CdTe layers and the frequencies of the transverse optical (TO) phonons in these structures are determined from dispersion analysis of the spectra. It is found that the samples under study are characterized by two TO phonon frequencies, equal to 28 and 47 cm$^{-1}$. The first frequency is close to that of TO phonons in bulk PbTe, and the second is assigned to the optical mode in structurally distorted interface layers. The Raman-scattering spectra upon excitation with the radiation of an Ar$^+$ laser at 514.5 nm are measured at room and liquid-nitrogen temperatures. The weak line at 106 cm$^{-1}$ observed in these spectra is attributed to longitudinal optical phonons in the interface layers.