The shape and concentration of defects, as well as the intensity of electroluminescence from the back side of Cu, Ag, and Au samples with their front side irradiated by a laser shot, are studied experimentally. It is shown that there exists a correlation between the electroluminescence intensity and the concentration of radiation-induced defects, which is consistent with the dislocation model of luminescence. (C) 2002 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".