Effect of microdefects in crystal lattice on certain luminescence relaxation processes in alkali halide phosphor crystals

A further development of ideas on an ionic mechanism for the activation of certain relaxation processes in recombination luminescence of alkali halide phosphor crystals is presented. It is shown that each stage of the thermal discoloration process in the phosphor crystals corresponds to disruption of the F-band in an isolated microsection of the specimen. The effect of the degree of plastic deformation on the relative proportions of F-center concentrations on various microregions of the crystal was investigated. The effect of impurity ions, of their concentration, arid of the crystal plastic deformation on the photothermal stability of the F-centers and on the thermal quenching of luminescence during photoexcitation of activator color centers in NaCl-Ag phosphor crystals was also studied.