Valence band offset in HgTe/Hg1−xCdxTe superlattices
The valence band offset (Λ) between HgTe and CdTe has been determined by means of an optical investigation of (112)B oriented HgTe/Hg1−xCdxTe superlattices. Based on the fact that the difference in energy between the first heavy hole and the first light hole subband is to a good approximation due primarily to Λ, it has been shown that Λ=580±40 meV at 5K. In addition Λ has a significant temperature dependence with a linear coefficient of −0.34±0.02 meV/K, i.e., Λ is 480±40 meV at room temperature.