The Thermoluminescence of Glasses

The thermoluminescence of soda-silicate glass and fused quartz, as well as ctystalline quartz, were observed below room temperature. The glow curves of glasses have broad bands without any structure. The luminescence shows the slow decay continuing for more than ten minutes at any fixed temperature between 100°K and 350°K. The dependence of these curves on the irradiation temperature and on the X-ray dose, and the effect of the heat treatments were studied. The decay curves, which do not obey the simple monomolecular or bimolecular law, are analysed by the model that the trapping levels are distributed continuously and uniformly beneath the conduction band. The discussions on the relation between the trapping centers and the random network structure of the glasses are presented.