Temperature dependence of 1.98 eV photoluminescence band in Cd1-xMnxTe semiconductor alloys

The 1.98 eV photoluminescence (PL) band in Cd_1-xMn_xTe has been studied over the composition range 0.4 ≤ x ≤ 0.7. This emission is shown to be insensitive to magnetic phase transitions. Above ～ 70 K, the emission intensity displays two temperature activated regions which appear to be intrinsic to the manganese system. The band maximum undergoes a red shift on cooling down to 60 K, followed by a nearly equal blue shift down to 1.8 K: models explaining these behaviors are discussed.