An Analysis of Electron–Hole Recombination in Solid Xenon with Time-Resolved Luminescence Spectroscopy

The formation of free excitons in solid Xe from photogenerated electron-hole pairs was investigated with time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. The initial kinetic energy of the photocarriers was varied over a large range by an appropriate choice of photon energy of excitation. The decay curves of the free-exciton luminescence yield a cascade-type behaviour. The experimental results were reproduced with model calculations including thermalization via scattering on acoustic phonons and a recombination cross-section which depends on the actual carrier temperatures. Good agreement between experiment and theory was found.