OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY OF THE AG- EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF MANIFESTATIONS OF THE JAHN-TELLER EFFECT( ION IN NAF )

The 4d(10)-->4d(9)5s(1) transitions of the Ag+ ion in single crystals of NaF were investigated by one- and two-photon spectroscopy and lumin escence experiments. The one-photon absorption spectrum extends from 2 38 to below 180 nm. At low temperature, several bands show resolved fi ne structure, but compared to NaF:Cu+, there is much less, and the lin es are broader. The Jahn-Teller effect is much larger in Ag+ than in C u+ and has been identified in three of the excited states. Trapping in Jahn-Teller minima is shown to change the emission kinetics radically compared to Cu+. The off-center force from the d(9)p states has much less effect on Ag+ than on Cu+. All of the evidence shows that Ag+ is more strongly coupled to the lattice than is Cu+. (C) 1998 American In stitute of Physics. [S0021-9606(98)01641-9].