Abstract
An up-to-date review on recent results for self-trapping of free electrons and holes, as well as excitons, in strontium titanate (STO), which gives rise to small polarons and self-trapped excitons (STEs) is presented. Special attention is paid to the role of carrier and exciton self-trapping on the luminescence emissions under a variety of excitation sources with special emphasis on experiments with laser pulses and energetic ion-beams. In spite of the extensive research effort, a definitive identification of such localized states, as well as a suitable understanding of their operative light emission mechanisms, has remained lacking or controversial. However, promising advances have been recently achieved and are the objective of the present review. In particular, significant theoretical advances in the understanding of electron and hole self-trapping are discussed. Also, relevant experimental advances in the kinetics of light emission associated with electron-hole recombination have been obtained through time-resolved experiments using picosecond (ps) laser pulses. The luminescence emission mechanisms and the light decay processes from the self-trapped excitons are also reviewed. Recent results suggest that the blue emission at 2.8 eV, often associated with oxygen vacancies, is related to a transition from unbound conduction levels to the ground singlet state of the STE. The stabilization of small electron polarons by oxygen vacancies and its connection with luminescence emission are discussed in detail. Through ion-beam irradiation experiments, it has recently been established that the electrons associated with the vacancy constitute electron polaron states (Ti3+) trapped in the close vicinity of the empty oxygen sites. These experimental results have allowed for the optical identification of the oxygen vacancy center through a red luminescence emission centered at 2.0 eV. Ab-initio calculations have provided strong support for those experimental findings. Finally, the use of Cr-doped STO has offered a way to monitor the interplay between the chromium centers and oxygen vacancies as trapping sites for the electron and hole partners resulting from the electronic excitation.
Recommended Citation
M. L. Crespillo et al., "Recent Advances on Carrier and Exciton Self-Trapping in Strontium Titanate: Understanding the Luminescence Emissions," Crystals, vol. 9, no. 2, MDPI AG, Feb 2019.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst9020095
Department(s)
Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science
Keywords and Phrases
Defects; Ionoluminescence; Oxygen Vacancies; Polarons; Self-Trapped Excitons; Strontium Titanate; Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
2073-4352; 2073-4352
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2019 The Authors, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
01 Feb 2019
Comments
This work has been supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.