The significance of thermalization of anti E-level in formation of photoelectric structure in ruby

A microscopic model explaining the formation of the electric domain structure in a heavily doped ruby under intensive laser irradiation is suggested. The model is based on the following facts: the thermalization of a metastable level anti E of Cr3+; the inhomogeneous Cr3+-ions distribution in the A and B sublattices during the crystal growth: the hopping conductivity in the system of Cr3+ ions excited into a metastable level. The suggested thermalizational model describes the starting mechanism of the formation of internal electric fields in domains and explains qualitatively most of the known experimental results. (orig.)