Treatment of thermostimulated luminescence, phosphorescence, and photostimulated luminescence with a tunneling theory

Abstract

Based on a tunneling pair recombination concept, rigorous expressions of thermostimulated luminescence (TSL), phosphorescence (PP), and photostimulated luminescence (PSL) are derived. A novel method of examining the ratio of PSL and PP at fixed temperatures and fixed times is shown to be useful for the determination of energy levels of the trap which is involved in the tunneling. Application to the zinc-silicate phosphors gives reasonable results.