Luminescence of mercuric iodide crystals

Low-temperature (4.2–130 K) photoluminescence spectra of HgI 2 crystals have been measured in the 540–700 nm region. An analysis of the characteristics (intensity vs temperature and excitation power relations, afterglow times, excitation spectra) of the 560, 620, and 635 nm emission bands suggests the following assignments: the 560 nm band is due to radiative annihilation of excitons bound to mercury vacancies, and the “red” emission originates from recombination of free (620 nm) and donor-localized (635 nm) electrons with a hole-filled acceptor level. The energies of the corresponding donor and acceptor levels have been estimated. New emission bands at 540, 545, and 575 nm have been discovered, and their origin discussed.