Relative features of the principal and secondary luminescence lifetimes in quartz

Abstract

The form of time-resolved luminescence spectra has been studied for quartz annealed at 800 °C and pulsestimulated at 470 nm. Depending on the measurement temperature and the irradiation dose, the spectra may be de-convolved into two possible components to produce a principal and subsidiary lifetime component. Measurements between 20 and 200 °C show that both components are affected by thermal quenching of the associated luminescence, qualitatively so for the subsidiary one, but with an activation energy of 0.71 eV for the principal lifetime. Regarding influence of irradiation, time-resolved spectra consist of a single component below about 260 Gy but two components thereafter independent of irradiation. The irradiation-dependent features of the lifetimes are accounted for in terms of the relative importance of the various luminescence centers in quartz. © 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.