Vacuum ultraviolet excited luminescence of Ag+ impurities in KMgF3

Optical properties of KMgF3:Ag+ crystals are determined in the vacuum ultraviolet region. An intense absorption due to the impurity, besides those already known at 192 and 213 nm, is identified at about 120 nm and behaves like the G band in alkali halides. Optical excitation into the new absorption originates in the typical Ag+ luminescence at 242 nm. A new broad emission, peaking at about 260 nm, is observed under excitation into the fundamental absorption of KMgF3, suggesting its attribution to intrinsic properties of the host material. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.