Activation energy distributions for electron traps in polystyrene

A new form of analysis of thermally stimulated luminescence data is presented, enabling the form of the concentration vs. activation energy distribution function of the electron traps in a polymeric dielectric to be deduced. At the end of the irradiation the trapped electrons are divided into four groups, namely the fraction f0 not re-trapped, and the fractions f1, f2 and f3 re-trapped once, twice and three times, respectively, before recombining with a luminescence centre. A distribution consisting of one or more sections of the form n(E)dE α exp (α(E — E)) is assumed, and the parameters adjusted to yield best agreement Between the experimental and synthesized data.