LUMINESCENCE INDUCED BY TUNNELLING RECOMBINATION BETWEEN NEUTRAL SILVER ATOMS AND VK CENTERS IN ALKALI-HALIDES

The decay curves of the tunnelling recombination luminescence between the neutral silver atom and the Vk centre in NaCl and KCl induced by irradiation with an electron pulse are obtained in the temperature range between 77 and 580 K. It is shown that the decay at 77 K follows a t−1 dependence for NaCl but a slower time dependence for KCl. The temperature dependence of the decay curve for NaCl is found to be such that the increase of temperature makes the decay slower at a delay time depending on temperature and enhances the decay rate at a longer delay time. On the other hand, the decay rate for KCl becomes faster with increasing temperature. The time dependence of the decay at 77 K and the temperature dependence of the decay are explained in terms of the anisotropic character of the tunnelling recombination. Copyright © 1979 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA