Interactive kinetics in thermally stimulated luminescence and conductivity and its effect on the trap depth determination

Abstract

Thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) and conductivity (TSC) complex glow curves having overlapping peaks are calculated for a system with two kinds of interactive electron traps, one kind of inactive trap, and one kind of recombination center. The densities of electrons localized on the interactive traps and the rates of change of these densities during the TSL and TSC runs also are calculated. The calculation results show that electrons thermally released from the traps of one kind during the sample heating are partly trapped by the traps of another kind from which they are next released. These processes of transfer of electrons influence the properties (the peak-positions, shape, and intensity) of the complex TSL and TSC curves. Consequently, the accuracy of trap depths evaluated from the calculated TSL and TSC curves using eight methods known from literature is, in general, lowered. This is found, particularly, for the initial-rise and the peak-shape methods.