A comparative study of the thermoluminescence properties of several varieties of Brazilian natural quartz

The following varieties of natural quartz, as the blue, the green, the red, the pink, the black, the sulphurous and the milky quartz, have been investigated concerning their thermoluminescence properties. For comparison sake natural colorless alpha quartz has been include. Since X-rays diffraction analysis has shown that all of them have the same crystal structure as the alpha quartz, it is expected that no great change in the TL property should be found, however, that was not the case. The TL peaks at 110, 175, 220, 325 and 375 degrees C observed in the alpha quartz are not found in all the varieties of quartz, for instance, the sulphurous quartz presented only 110 degrees and 245 degrees peaks, the pink one presented just 110, 220 and 375 degrees C peaks and so on. In respect to TL response as function of gamma ray dose a quite varied behavior has been observed and discussed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.