Luminescence quenching as a probe for the local density of electronic excitations in insulators

Abstract

Luminineence quenching which originates from the interaction of closely spaced electronic excitations (EEs: electrons, core- and valence-band holes, excitons, etc.) is considered. ‘Reactions’ between them at a distance shorter than that of dipole-dipole interaction are discussed. Creation of regions with high local density of EEs by VUV and XUV photons is demonstrated. Features of this type of quenching specific for different regions of excitation and different crystals are illustrated by experimental examples.