Radioluminescence and thermally-stimulated luminescence of SiO2 glasses prepared by spark plasma sintering

Abstract

Bulk SiO2 glasses have been prepared by spark plasma sintering and characterized towards dosimeter applications. The temperature dependence studies of radioluminescence suggest that there are two possible groups of luminescent centres, which show emissions at 385 and 511 nm. At room temperature, the former emission is predominant while the latter emission significantly increases at low temperatures, especially below 200 K. The origins of these emissions are attributed to a pair of silylene centres and dioxasilirane and silylene, respectively. After irradiating the sample, thermally-stimulated luminescence (TSL) is observed around 160°C and above 300°C, in which the emission is mainly the 385nm component. The TSL intensity is linearly proportional to the radiation dose delivered, and a linear dynamic range has been demonstrated over 100104mGy.