Intensity-Dependent Decay Times of Excited Electrons in Semiconductor-Doped Glasses

Abstract

The intensity-dependent decay times of excited electrons in semiconductor-doped glasses were measured by using a time-correlated single-photon counting system. On the basis of the experimental measurements, we propose a simple model based on the surface states, the permanent traps, and the penetrating and back-scattered electrons in the glasses. An analysis based on our model shows that the photodarkening and the slow photoluminescence decay were mainly due to the permanent trapping of the penetrating electrons and to the radiative decay of the re-excited electrons from the traps in the glass, respectively.