Luminescence kinetics in proton-irradiated quartz glasses

Abstract

It is experimentally demonstrated that the intensity of the radiation-induced luminescence (RIL) of KU-1 and KI quartz glasses at 450 nm increases more than ten times upon the proton irradiation (proton energy, 8 MeV; dose rate, 5×10³ Gy/s; dose, up to 1.2×10⁷ Gy) to a dose of 10⁶ Gy. At a dose exceeding 10⁶ Gy, the spectral efficiency of the ionizing radiation energy conversion reached ∼10⁻⁶ nm⁻¹ in the maximum of the RIL band at 450 nm for all types of glasses. After preliminary low-rate γ-irradiation (below 0.5 Gy/s), the RIL intensity in the beginning of the proton irradiation and its variation with the proton dose depend on the concentration of impurities in the quartz glass. The RIL intensity buildup depends on the formation of positively and negatively charged microscopic regions in glasses.