Charge movement in grains of quartz studied using exo-electron emission

Abstract

A flow-through Geiger-Müller pancake electron detector attachment has been fitted to the Risø TL/OSL reader, enabling optically stimulated electrons (OSE) to be measured simultaneously with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). This detector has been used to provide new insights into charge movement in luminescence phosphors. Here we show that OSE from natural quartz grains gives an easily detectable, reproducible and light sensitive signal, although it is not as intense as OSL. A single sample of natural quartz grains extracted from a sediment is used to investigate the thermal stability and dependence on stimulation temperature of the OSE and OSL signals. The response to dose of these signals is also investigated, and conclusions drawn on the movement of electrons in this natural phosphor.