EPR and Thermoluminescence in ZnO Single Crystals with Anionic Vacancies

The radiation defects created in hydrothermal ZnO–Li single crystals by irradiating them with electrons, protons, and highenergy ions have been investigated. The anionic vacancies (Fcenters) in ZnO are established to be the centers of radiationless recombination of the charge carriers with a photoionization energy of 2.3 eV (a signal of the photoEPR with the gfactor for the F⁺center: g = 1.9948 and g = 1.9963). The anionic vacancies in the form of the F and F⁺ states are a good reference of the electron and hole processes. The F_Li]^×centers that correspond to the oxygen vacancies localized near the point defects Li_Zn are detected. In the temperature range 530–660 K, ZnO crystals display thermally stimulated processes such as the healing of anionic vacancies (530–630 K) and the disappearance of the F_Li]^×centers (610–660 K).