Electron-optical phonon scattering in the quantum well of a HgTe/CdHgTe heterostructure

The optical phonon spectra in an HgTe quantum well surrounded by CdHgTe barriers are calculated, taking into account the contribution of free electrons to the dielectric permittivity of the quantum well. It is shown that free electrons not only change the phonon spectrum, but they can also change the number of branches of the surface optical phonons. The frequencies of the electron-optical phonon collisions, the wave-vector relaxation rates, and the energy relaxation rates are calculated for different temperatures and electron concentrations. The dependencies of the momentum and energy scattering frequencies on the electron kinetic energy are found.