Time-resolved OSL of natural zircon: A preliminary study

Time-resolved OSL (TR-OSL) from natural zircon (ZrSiO4) minerals was investigated using 445 nm blue laser light for stimulation. Analyses of the TR-OSL spectra have showed that the decay is composed of two exponential components with lifetimes varying around ∼17 μs and around ∼110 μs respectively. The behaviour of these signal components, was examined under various sample treatments and experimental conditions. Preheating experiments showed that the OSL signal is stable up to temperatures ∼250 °C then becomes unstable. The dose response of the TR-OSL signal from zircon was determined in the range from 1 Gy to 1 kGy and observed to be increasing linearly. Practically, no effect of radiation dose on the lifetimes of signal components was observed. In addition, the effect of measurement temperature on the TR-OSL decay lifetimes was also investigated. Thermal quenching energies of the “fast” and the “slow” components were found to be very close to each other i.e. 0.18 and 0.24 eV respectively. •Time-Resolved OSL from natural zircon was studied.•Two components with lifetimes 17 and 110 us were observed.•TR-OSL signal is found to be stable up to 250 °C.•Dose Response of the TR-OSL signal was found to be linear over a dose range of 1–1000 Gy.•Thermal quenching energies of the two components were found as 0.18 and 0.24 eV.