Magnetoabsorption in narrow-gap HgCdTe epitaxial layers in the terahertz range

The magnetoabsorption and photoconductivity spectra are investigated in the terahertz (THz) range at a temperature of T = 4.2 K for n-Hg1 − x Cd x Te bulk epitaxial layers of various compositions (both semiconductor and semimetallic) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Within the framework of the Kane 8 · 8 model, the electron and hole Landau levels are calculated. It is shown that, in contrast to the results of previous investigations, all observed resonance lines are related to transitions between the Landau levels of free carriers (the cyclotron resonance in the conduction band and the transitions between heavy-hole and electron Landau levels), which is evidence of the high purity and structural perfection of the samples. The possibility of using zero-gap Hg1 − x Cd x Te solid solutions as THz photodetectors tunable by magnetic field is shown.