THERMALLY STIMULATED-EMISSION OF ELECTRONS AND PHOTONS IN NONLINEAR LIB3O5 CRYSTALS

The results of an investigation of the thermally stimulated emission o f electrons and photons in lithium triborate single crystals are prese nted. The investigation is performed mainly by simultaneously measurin g the thermally stimulated emission of electrons and photons after var ious radiation treatments. In particular, the thermally stimulated exo electron emission of LiB3O5 crystals is discovered for the first time and studied in detail. An analysis of the experimental results reveals two new trapping centers. It is established that the thermal annealin g of these centers at 450 and 515 K makes a contribution only to the e xoelectron emission. It is postulated that a field fluctuation process , which lowers the potential barriers of the trapping centers, takes p lace in LiB3O5 at 100-140 K. This process is attributed to thermally s timulated relaxation of the radiation-induced charge. A significant de pendence of the parameters of the thermally stimulated processes in Li B3O5 on the parameters of the radiation treatment is discovered. (C) 1 997 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7842(97)02307-6].