Subnanosecond luminescence of molecular clusters in LiF crystals implanted with silver ions

Parameters of luminescent layers formed in samples of lithium fluoride crystals as a result of irradiation with a beam of high-energy ($\sim$100 keV) silver ions have been studied. Three components were detected in the luminescence spectra, two of which correspond to the emission of radiation-induced aggregate color centers of the F$_3^+$ and F$_2$ types. The third, thermally stable component associated with the spectral maximum at the wavelength of 440 nm, corresponds to the luminescence of molecular silver clusters formed in the irradiated surface layers of lithium fluoride. In the kinetic luminescence decay curves, four components are distinguished; two slow components correspond to aggregate centers, and two intense fast components with decay times of 1.3 and 0.2 ns correspond to molecular silver clusters.