ELECTRONIC ENERGY DISSIPATION PROCESSES IN DOPED RARE GAS CLUSTERS WITH A SHELL-LIKE STRUCTURE

Abstract

Energy relaxation processes of photoexcited Ar M clusters (M < 50) covered with a shell of Kr atoms (up to 30 atoms) which are embedded in large Ne N clusters (N = 3500) are investigated with energy-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. In the energy range of the Ne cluster absorption (16.5–18 eV) a strong energy transfer to the embedded Ar subcluster is observed, which results in desorption of electronically excited Ar * atoms. Ar * move through the Ne cluster, desorb and emit visible and near-infrared light in the vacuum ( 4p → 4s ). By coating the Ar clusters with Kr atoms, the Ar lines disappear and 5p → 5s transitions of Kr become dominant. Additionally, new bands occur, which are assigned to transitions of perturbed atomic Ar 4p states inside Ne clusters. A simple kinematic model is suggested to describe the suppression of desorption of excited Ar atoms from Ne clusters.