Studies of the spectral and spatial characteristics of shock-induced luminescence from x-cut quartz

Spatial and spectral studies of shock-induced luminescence from x-cut crystalline quartz as a function of stress level revealed the following information: Crystalline x-cut quartz has a threshold for emission near the dynamic yield point (about 6 GPa); the spatial distribution of the luminescence from x-cut quartz changes from an intersecting linear emission pattern to a uniform emission pattern as the stress level increases from 6 to 8 GPa; spectra from x-cut quartz are band-like rather than blackbody; crystalline x-cut quartz has emission peaks near 400 and 600 nm; a change in the 400-nm emission with time can be correlated to wave interaction times. A discussion of the luminous emission in terms of yielding and other physical mechanisms is given.