Radiation-induced phenomena in thermally treated Kr matrices

Abstract

The effect of thermal treatment on relaxation phenomena in Kr matrices irradiated with a low-energy electron beam has been studied. The experiments were carried out using measurements of the relaxation emissions of preirradiated Kr samples, which were unannealed and annealed before exposure to an electron beam. Three types of emissions were monitored in a correlated real-time manner: thermally stimulated luminescence, thermally stimulated exoelectron emission, and total yield of particles via pressure measurements. The energy levels of defects were estimated from the thermally stimulated luminescence data of the annealed sample. Two types of electron-hole traps created by electronic excitation were identified: close pairs and distant ones. Additional confirmation of the “excited state” mechanism of defect formation was obtained. Analysis of the correlation of yields and the effect of thermal treatment gave additional arguments in support of the crowdion model of anomalous low-temperature post-desorption from pre-irradiated Kr matrices.