Advances in Time Resolved X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence Instrumentation at the Canadian Light Source

Measurement of the optical emission properties of samples excited by x-rays can be used to study defect states in crystals and the optical properties of nanostructured materials. Changes in the intensities, wavelengths and lifetimes of the optical emission can occur when specific core level electrons are excited using tuneable light from a synchrotron light source. At the Canadian Light Source (CLS), collaboration between the user community, the experimental facilities group and the accelerator division has resulted in improved capabilities in the acquisition of Time Resolved XEOL (TRXEOL) data. Using a streak camera, the optical luminescence decay curves from samples excited with 35 ps long synchrotron pulses have been obtained. The streak tube is operated in single sweep mode and is triggered by the 500 MHz RF signal, which has been resynchronized to the orbit clock frequency giving a highly stable trigger pulse. A transverse kicker system is used to improve bunch purity from 10(2) to 10(6). The decay curves of the XEOL of nanostructured ZnO and a high pressure form of SiO2 have been measured and demonstrate the unique capabilities of this instrumentation.