Empirical Pseudopotential Method to Investigate Effective Mass and Dielectric Properties of CdSxTe1–x Alloy

Abstract This study investigates the band structure, effective mass, refractive index, and dielectric properties of the ternary alloy CdSxTe1–x. The Empirical Pseudopotential Method (EPM) was employed under the Virtual Crystal Approximation (VCA), with enhancements to the VCA to account for compositional disorder. Calculations were performed for the electron and heavy hole effective mass, refractive index, and both high-frequency and static dielectric constants. The properties of interest demonstrate a non-monotonic and non-linear variation with increasing sulfur composition, suggesting that CdSxTe1–x alloys exhibit increased insulating behavior with higher sulfur concentrations. The results of this research lay the groundwork for further exploration and potential application of CdSxTe1–x alloys in the development of optoelectronic devices and advancements in semiconductor technology.