UV excitation spectra of thermoluminescence in quartz

Thermoluminescence was excited at 300 K in natural quartz crystals by monochromatic ultraviolet radiation. The excitation spectra of the main glow peaks were measured in the spectral region 1150–2000 Å. A strong excitation maximum appeared for all measured glow peaks in the region of high absorbance on the long wavelength tail of a sharp reflectance peak at 1275 Å. Some glow peaks showed excitation maxima also at photon energies smaller than the absorption edge of the material. The dependence of the TL intensities on the dose of the exciting radiation was investigated for various glow peaks and excitation wavelengths. A sublinear dependence was recorded for some peaks by excitation at 1275 Å, while the same peaks showed a strictly linear dependence up to relatively high radiation doses, when excited at 1600 Å.