Pulsed cathodoluminescence of heavy metal azides

The first results of an investigation into the spectral and kinetic characteristics of a pulsed cathodoluminescence from polycrystalline heavy metal azides at an excitation level below the explosion initiation threshold are presented. It is established that the emission from AgN₃, PbN₆, and TlN₃ at 300 K measured in the interval of quantum energies from 1.5 to 3.5 eV represents weakly structured broad bands limited by the fundamental absorption edge of each material, with a characteristic decay time of τ < 20 ns. At 30 K, TlN₃ exhibits luminescence in the interval from 1.5 to 2.5 eV with a maximum at 1.85 eV decaying on a microsecond time scale. The temperature dependence of the spectral and kinetic parameters of emission was studied.