Radiation-Induced Modification of III–V and II–VI Quantum Heterostructures Under High-Energy X Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Electron Irradiation
Abstract
Low-dimensional III–V and II–VI quantum heterostructures are important active media for optoelectronic devices operating under radiation environments. In this work, the effects of high-energy X-ray, gamma-ray, and electron irradiation on excitonic recombination and exciton–phonon interaction were investigated in GaAs/AlGaAs and ZnTe/CdZnTe-based quantum heterostructures using low-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy. The spectra showed pronounced excitonic emission bands accompanied by longitudinal optical phonon replicas, indicating phonon-assisted recombination processes. After irradiation, a substantial reduction in photoluminescence intensity was observed, which was attributed to the formation of radiation-induced non-radiative recombination centers. In ZnTe/CdZnTe structures, electron irradiation produced a slight blue shift (approximately 0.7 meV) of the quantum-well emission, whereas X-ray irradiation resulted in a small red shift (approximately 0.6 meV), suggesting irradiation-dependent modification of exciton localization and defect-related potential fluctuations. A semi-quantitative analysis based on integrated PL intensity ratios, an effective non-radiative recombination parameter, and the Huang–Rhys factor (S≈1–2) was performed to correlate PL quenching, spectral shifts, and LO-phonon replicas with radiation-induced defect formation. The relative changes in excitonic, impurity-related, and phonon-assisted emission bands indicate a redistribution of radiative and non-radiative recombination channels after irradiation. A phenomenological interpretation based on radiative and non-radiative recombination rates and the Huang–Rhys description of LO-phonon replicas was used to discuss the observed spectral changes. The results provide a comparative experimental assessment of irradiation-induced modifications in III–V and II–VI quantum heterostructures and may be useful for evaluating the radiation tolerance of semiconductor optoelectronic structures.
Downloads
References
Türkoğlu, A., Ergün, Y., & Ungan, F. “Investigation of the electro-optical characteristics of GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy,” Journal of Molecular Structure, 1279, 134202 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.134202
Akhmadaliev, B. Z., Yuldashev, N. K., & Yulchiev, I. I. “Surface-radiative modes and longitudinal excitons in the spectra of exciton-polariton luminescence,” Optics and Spectroscopy, 125, 343–352 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0030400X18090023
Liu, X.-Y., Singh, C. N., Kennedy, E. R., Huang, S., Fluckey, S. P., Matthews, C., & Uberuaga, B. P. “Review of radiation-induced defects in GaAs,” Journal of Applied Physics, 138(7), 070701 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0279267
Mirzaev, V. T., Akhmadaliyev, B. J., Yulchiev, I. I., Madraximov, M. M., & Rakhmonov, T. I. “Temperature and infrared quenching of equilibrium conductivity in CdSeₓS₁₋ₓ film,” East European Journal of Physics, (2), 247–251 (2025). https://doi.org/10.26565/2312-4334-2025-2-29
Rasulov, R. Y., Rasulov, V. R., Kodirov, N. U., Nasirov, M. K., & Eshboltaev, I. M. “Theoretical analysis of interband single-photon light absorption in semiconductors: Effects of valence-conduction band mixing and temperature-dependent bandgap,” East European Journal of Physics, (2), 179–187 (2025). https://doi.org/10.26565/2312-4334-2025-2-18
Rasulov, R. Y., Rasulov, V. R., Kasimov, F. U., Nasirov, M. K., Farmanova, I. E., & Tursinbaev, A. Z. “On the theory of two-photon intersubband absorption and linear-circular dichroism in semiconductors of the III–V type,” East European Journal of Physics, (2), 188–199 (2025). https://doi.org/10.26565/2312-4334-2025-2-19
Agekyan, V. F., Budkin, G., Chukeev, M., Filosofov, N., Karczewski, G., Serov, A., & Reznitsky, A. “Hot exciton relaxation in coupled ultra-thin CdTe/ZnTe quantum well structures,” Journal of Luminescence, 230, 117762 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2020.117762
Rasulov, R. Y., Rasulov, V. R., Kasimov, F. U., Nasirov, M. K., & Muminov, I. A. “On the theory of the intraband mechanism of single-photon absorption in semiconductors, taking into account the effect of coherent saturation,” East European Journal of Physics, (2), 441–451 (2025). https://doi.org/10.26565/2312-4334-2025-2-55
Akhmadaliyev, B., Rakhmonov, T., Sulaymonov, K., & Nurmatov, O. “Photoconductivity spectra of thin solid solution films CdSeₓS₁₋ₓ,” E3S Web of Conferences, 583, 04002 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202458304002
Huo, B., Zhang, H., Jiang, Y., Chen, Q., & Wang, Z. M. “The Huang–Rhys factor and the strength of exciton–LO phonon coupling in semiconductor quantum wells,” Materials Today: Proceedings, (2007). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-8001(08)00021-8
Zhang, Y. “Applications of Huang–Rhys theory in semiconductor optical spectroscopy,” Journal of Semiconductors, 40(9), 091102 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1088/1674-4926/40/9/091102
Rasulov, R. Y., Rasulov, V. R., Kasimov, F. U., Nasirov, M. K., Farmanova, I. E., & Tursinbaev, A. Z. “On the theory of interband two-photon absorption of light in semiconductors accounting admixtures to the states of the conduction band and valence states, the Rabi effect,” East European Journal of Physics, (2), 200–205 (2025). https://doi.org/10.26565/2312-4334-2025-2-20
Pavelescu, E. M., Bălţăţeanu, N., Spânulescu, S. I., & Arola, E. “Very high dose electron irradiation effects on photoluminescence from GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy,” Optical Materials, 64, 361–365 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2016.12.007
Sailai, M., Aierken, A., Li, Q., Heini, M., Zhao, X., Mo, J., Gao, J., et al., “Effects of 1-MeV electron irradiation on the photoluminescence of GaInNAs/GaAs single quantum well structure,” Semiconductors, 54, 554–557 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063782620050103
Murata, T., Ohno, Y., Kishimoto, S., & Mizutani, T. “Photoluminescence intensity enhancement by electron beam irradiation into GaAs quantum wells,” Solid-State Electronics, 43(1), 147–152 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-1101(98)00197-X
Polvonov, B. Z., Gafurov, Y. I., Otajonov, U. A., Nasirov, M. X., & Zaylobiddinov, B. B. “The specificity of photoluminescence in n-CdS/p-CdTe semiconductor heterostructures,” International Journal of Mathematics and Physics, 13(2), (2022). https://doi.org/10.26577/ijmph.2022.v13.i2.02
Tan, H. H., Williams, J. S., Jagadish, C., Burke, P. T., & Gal, M. “Large energy shifts in GaAs–AlGaAs quantum wells by proton irradiation-induced intermixing,” Applied Physics Letters, 68(17), 2401–2403 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.116147
Romčević, N., Romčević, M., Kostić, R., Stojanović, D., Milutinović, A., Trajić, J., Karczewski, G., & Galazka, R. “Photoluminescence spectroscopy of CdTe/ZnTe self-assembled quantum dots,” International Journal of Photoenergy, 2009, 358790 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1155/2009/358790
Stanley, R. P., Doran, J. P., Hegarty, J., & Feldman, R. D. “LO-phonons and excitons in (Cd,Zn)Te based quantum wells,” Physica B: Condensed Matter, 191(1–2), 71–82 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-4526(93)90179-A
Ayibzhanov, M., Mamatov, O., Mirzaev, V., & Tuychibaev, B. “Luminescence spectrum of cadmium chalcogenide photovoltaic film structures and their power enhancement,” E3S Web of Conferences, 583, 04003 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202458304003
Agekyan, V. F., Serov, A. Y., Filosofov, N. G., Shtrom, I. V., & Karczewski, G. “Optical properties of zinc telluride with cadmium telluride submonolayers,” Physics of the Solid State, 58(10), 2109–2112 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063783416100036
Nguyen, T. A., Mackowski, S., Jackson, H. E., Smith, L. M., Wrobel, J., Fronc, K., Karczewski, G., et al., “Resonant spectroscopy of II–VI self-assembled quantum dots: Excited states and exciton–longitudinal optical phonon coupling,” Physical Review B, 70, 125306 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.70.125306
Zaitsev, V. V., Bagaev, V. S., & Onishchenko, E. E. “Specific features in the temperature dependence of photoluminescence from CdTe/ZnTe size-quantized islands and ultrathin quantum wells,” Physics of the Solid State, 41, 647–653 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1130842
Copyright (c) 2026 Mardonbek Kh. Nasirov, Dilmuhammad X. Tolaboyev, Tokhirbek I. Rakhmonov, Khusanboy M. Sulaymonov, Sherzod Sh. Abdullayev, Abdusattor O. Umarov, Ixtiyor M. Tursunov
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
