ANALYSIS OF ATOMIC ZINC LUMINESCENCE IN RARE-GAS SOLIDS - A ZINC RARE-GAS CLUSTER APPROACH

The luminescence spectroscopy of atomic zinc isolated in the solid rar e gases (Zn/RG) is compared with theoretical predictions obtained with the use of diatomic Zn.RG potentials. In particular, the existence of pairs of emission bands, both of which are assigned to the same gas-p hase electronic transition, is examined with the use of diatomic pair potentials to simulate the potential-energy surfaces of the Jahn-Telle r active vibrational modes of 2n in the solid. The close agreement fou nd between theory and experiment indicates the validity of the use of pair potentials in the analysis of matrix zinc spectroscopy. Thus, it allows identification of the high-energy emission bands in the Zn/RG s ystems as arising from motions of the rare-gas atoms surrounding the a tomic zinc guest and the lower-energy bands as associated with the mot ion of the zinc atom into an octahedral interstitial site in the latti ce.