The dependence of the thermoluminescence sensitivity upon the temperature of irradiation in quartz

A strong dependence of the intensity of the thermoluminescence (TL) output upon the temperature at which the sample is irradiated is noted in quartz in the glow-curve interval 513-693K. The intensity of the TL output is seen to decrease by a factor of approximately 5 as the irradiation temperature T_irr is decreased from room temperature to 113K when irradiated with 5 krad of X-rays. At higher doses the variation is seen to be much greater: the TL intensity decreasing by a factor of approximately 10³ as T_irr is reduced from room temperature to 178K for a gamma dose of 600 krad. The wavelength range of the TL measurements is 375-530 nm.