Specific features in the kinetics of thermally stimulated luminescence of α-Al2O3 crystals containing defects

A study of specific features in the kinetics of thermoluminescence (TL) of defective α-Al₂O₃ crystals is reported. The TL properties are experimentally shown to be related to the presence of oxygen vacancies of thermochemical or radiation origin. It is established that the differences in the TL kinetics in α-Al₂O₃ samples grown under different conditions can be accounted for by the hypothesis that the energy spectra of the trapping levels have different widths. As is demonstrated with a titanium impurity, this broadening of the energy spectrum can originate from the presence of traces of native impurities in the α-Al₂O₃ lattice. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1538–1543 (September 1997)