HOT HOLES IN IRRADIATED IONIC SOLIDS

The concept of hot holes as energy carriers in irradiated ionic solids , mainly in alkali halides, is reviewed. This concept has been rised t o understand the transfer of a considerable portion of radiation-creat ed heres to impurity centers on irradiation of alkali halides at low t emperatures where self-trapped holes are practically immobile. It has further been used to handle the nm-to-mu m range bulk-to-surface energ y transport in alkali halides and metal oxides irradiated by XUV (sync hrotron) radiation. This transport may be considered as bore diffusion with the mean free path of about 10 nm, the diffusion length of about 100 nm and the diffusion time of about 1 ps, which is consistent with the model in which hot holes behave as band particles, their motion b eing limited by hole-phonon scattering. The holes having reached the c rystal surface recombine with conduction electrons which leads to surf ace recombination luminescence and possibly to creation of surface def ects.