The trap parameters of electrons in intermediate energy levels in quartz

The trap parameters (thermal activation energy E_t and frequency factor s) of the glow peaks of quartz, occurring in the temperature range 420–520 K and corresponding to intermediate energy levels, were evaluated using different and complementary methods of analysis: peak shift, isothermal decay and fractional glow curve. The values of E_t and of s derived with the isothermal decay method and with the peak shift technique agree quite well, within the error limits. The corresponding values obtained using the fractional glow curve analysis proved to be underestimated, probably as a consequence of the thermal quenching. Proper corrections were therefore applied to take into account this phenomenon.