Kinetics of red, blue and UV thermoluminescence and optically-stimulated luminescence from quartz

The duration over which charge is retained at trapping sites is of fundamental importance for trapped electron dating. Here, we report measurements of the kinetic parameters of the prominent thermoluminescence (TL) glow peaks of quartz, and of the optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) signal from quartz utilised for optical dating. The similarity in trapping lifetimes of the 325 deg. C TL peak and the dominant component of the OSL signal are taken as further support for the hypothesis of their common origin in the same trapped electron population