Thermoluminescence properties of natural zoisite mineral under γ-irradiations and high temperature annealing

Natural silicate mineral of zoisite, Ca2Al3(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH), has been investigated concerning γ-radiation, UV-radiation and high temperature annealing effects on thermoluminescence (TL). X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement confirmed zoisite structure and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis revealed besides Si, Al and Ca that are the main crystal components, other oxides of Fe, Mg, Cr, Na, K, Sr, Ti, Ba and Mn which are present in more than 0.05 wt%. The TL glow curve of natural sample contains (130–150), (340–370) and (435–475) °C peaks. Their shapes indicated a possibility that they are result of composition of two or more peaks strongly superposed, a fact confirmed by deconvolution method. Once pre-annealed at 600 °C for 1 h, the shape of the glow curves change and the zoisite acquires high sensitivity. Several peaks between 100 and 400 °C appear superposed, and the high temperature peak around 435 °C cannot be seen. The ultraviolet radiation, on the other hand, produces one TL peak around 130 °C and the second one around 200 °C and no more.