THERMAL TREATMENTS AND EMISSION-SPECTRA OF TL FROM QUARTZ

The intrinsic defect structure of quartz is sensitive to heat treatments, and this is reflected in changes in TL sensitivity and also the relative intensity of the component glow peaks. It is also known that even for the same crystal, there can be changes in the luminescence spectra. This paper reports on spectral changes induced in the TL of quartz as a result of a variety of thermal treatments. Emission spectra obtained from synthetic, hydrothermal and volcanic quartz samples were compared. Heat treatments to 1000 degrees C enhanced the TL signals by factors of up to 1000 times. The rate of cooling changed the relative intensities of the component emission bands in all samples. In the volcanic quartz material, the ratio of red to blue emission is particularly sensitive to the cooling rate. The influence of the spectral features on conventional polychromatic TL data is discussed.