Photoelectromagnetic Phenomena in n-type HgCdTe Heterostructures

Abstract

The influence of a drift electric field on the photoelectromagnetic (PEM) effect on thin films of n-type mercury cadmium telluride is investigated. It was obtained that the strong magnetoresistance due to two types of electrons (“fast” bulk and “slow” surface electrons) significantly changes the dependences of the PEM effect on the magnetic field. Due to the magnetoresistance, the magnitude of the PEM effect in high magnetic fields is higher than in a zero field with a drift current of more than $1.25\ \mu \mathrm{A}$. At a drift current of $24.76\ \mu \mathrm{A}$, the dependence on the magnetic field of the PEM effect is very similar to the magnetoresistance dependence.