Low-temperature time-resolved vacuum UV spectroscopy of potassium pentaborate crystals

For the first time, subnanosecond time resolution is attained in the low-temperature (at 7 K) measurements of the photoluminescence (PL) spectra (2–6 eV), the PL excitation spectra (4–32 eV), the PL kinetics, and the reflection spectra (4–21 eV) of undoped potassium pentaborate KB₅O₈·4H₂O (KB5) crystals under selective photoexcitation by synchrotron radiation. The PL peaks associated with the intrinsic defects of the KB5 lattice are detected. The PL bands resulting from radiative annihilation of the localized and self-localized electron excitations are singled out; these excitations are most efficiently photogenerated at the fundamental absorption edge in the region where the free exciton formation is expected. The difference between the PL spectra of the fast and slow components is revealed. An effective low-temperature energy transport over the KB5 hydrogen sublattice is deduced from a drop in efficiency of PL excitation in the interband-transition region as a result of nonradiative energy loss. Long-term vacuum UV irradiation of a KB5 crystal at 7 K gives rise to defects in the hydrogen sublattice, which facilitate localization of the electron excitations and reduce the effective length of their diffusion. This leads to a decrease in the nonradiative energy loss, thus enhancing the efficiency of the PL photoexcitation in the band-to-band transition region.