Study of the ionoluminescence behavior of the gemstones: Beryl (aquamarine variety), opal, and topaz

Abstract

Ion beam induced luminescence (IBIL) is introduced as a powerful luminescence technique for analyzing the gemstones. Although IBIL is basically comparable to cathodoluminescence (CL), as a well-known luminescence method for studying the gemstones, its high energy density, superior flexibility in depth resolving and fast ionization rate, qualify it for studying weakly luminescent, multi-layer, and precious samples. In order to examine the potential of IBIL in analyzing the gemstones, three samples of beryl (aquamarine variety), opal, and topaz, with different luminosities, were studied through simulations and experiments. The results of the Monte Carlo simulations of the proton beam in interaction with the mentioned gemstones, displayed the capabilities of IBIL, especially in comparison to the well-known technique of CL. The in-air ion beam induced luminescence experiments of the natural samples were performed at room temperature. Also, the complementary technique of microPIXE was applied for elemental analyses of the samples. The promising results of the IBIL experiments exhibit the ability of the technique for analyzing weakly luminescent gemstones, such as aquamarine. The IBIL spectra also exhibit some unknown luminescence bands, which are mostly located in the UV part of the spectra. These new bands disclose the existence of the unknown luminescence activators in the samples. Possible ideas on the origins of these new bands are proposed.