Time-resolved investigation of a-STE luminescence from pure and doped Ne

Abstract

Solid layers of pure, Ar- and Kr-doped Ne are excited with a chopped electron beam. The resulting luminescence spectra are detected during the excitation and in the time range from 0 to 2.3 ms after the excitation pulse. This method allows the identification of metastable a-STE states. In pure Ne these states have decay times of 171+or-3 mu s and about 600 mu s and transition energies of 16.694 and 16.674 eV, respectively. They are assigned to emissions of the Ne 3P2 a-STE at one and two vacancies. Long-lived states of Ar in Ne (transition energy 11.64 eV, decay times 91.5 mu s) and Kr in Ne (transition energy 10.06 eV) are interpreted as 3P2 a-STE states at regular lattice sites. On the basis of the identification of these 3P2 states for Ar and Kr in Ne an assignment of the detected emissions to 3P2, 3P1 and 1P1 a-STE states at vacancies and regular lattice sites is proposed.