Secondary emission influenced fluorescence decay of a homogeneous fluorophore solution

An analytical expression is found allowing the calculation of the secondary emission influenced fluorescence decay of a homogeneous fluorophore solution. Before starting the calculation one has to know the shape of the primary fluorescence decay of the fluorophore and the value of the parameter κ denoting the ratio of the secondary to primary steady-state fluorescence intensities. The method elaborated by Budó and Ketskeméty is recommended for evaluation of the parameter κ. The main importance of the obtained expression is that it can be used to recover parameters characterizing the fluorescence decay in the absence of secondary emission. The cases of monoexponential, biexponential and multiexponential primary fluorescence decays are discussed in detail. (paper)