Temperature dependence of the lifetime of excited states for 3d transition element centres in II-VI crystals

The decay of infrared emission after pulsed laser excitation is recorded and the temperature dependence of the lifetime of excited states is studied in the range 4 K <= T <= 300 K for substitutional V, Cr, Co, Ni, and Cu ions in ZnS and CdS crystals. The nonradiative transitions involved are discussed in a configurational-coordinate model and appropriate parameters are derived for the individual materials. The data support a 3d-4p configuration mixing mechanism for the electronic transition probabilities of 3d ions in II-VI compounds. (orig.)