Soft x-ray excited optical luminescence from poly(N-vinylcarbazole)

X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) using tunable soft x rays from a synchrotron light source, together with x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy has been used to study the electronic structure and optical properties of thin films of poly(N-vinylcarbazole). It is found that carbon core level excitation enhances the formation of excimers emitting at 380 and 410 nm. A third excimer at 310 nm is also noted. In addition, excitations across the C K edge and the N K edge show noticeably different optical response. These results are interpreted in terms of the site specificity of the XEOL technique. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.