Affiliation: | aInstitute of Physics, University of Sao Paulo, Rua do Matão, Travessa R, 187, CEP 05508-900 Sao Paulo, Brazil bUniversity of Alas Peruanas, Environmental Engineering, Arequipa, Peru cDepartment of Physics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078-3072, USA |
Abstract: | Diopside, a natural silicate mineral of formula CaMgSi2O6, has been investigated concerning its thermoluminescence (TL) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) properties. Glow curves and TL vs. γ-dose were obtained irradiating natural samples to additional dose varying from 50 to 10,000 Gy. Except for a 410 °C peak found in the Al-doped artificial diopside, all the other peaks grow linearly with radiation dose, but saturate beyond 1 kGy. To investigate high-temperature effect before irradiation, measurements of TL intensity in samples annealed at 500–900 °C and then irradiated to 1 kGy γ-dose were carried out. Also the TL emission spectrum has been obtained. To compare with natural diopside, a synthetic pure polycrystal was produced and further those doped with iron, aluminum and manganese were also produced. |