Triboluminescent properties of zinc sulfide phosphors due to hypervelocity impact

The emission of light due to crystal fracture, or triboluminescence (TL), is a phenomenon that has been known for centuries. One of the most common examples of TL is the flash created from chewing Wint-O-Green Lifesavers®. From 2004 to 2006, research was completed using the two-stage light gas gun located at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama to measure the TL properties for zinc sulfide doped with both manganese (ZnS:Mn) and copper (ZnS:Cu). Results clearly show that hypervelocity impact-induced TL has been observed for both ZnS:Mn and ZnS:Cu. For ZnS:Mn, TL produced during 4.7 and 5.7 km/s impacts was statistically more luminous than was observed from similar data collected at 3.3 km/s. The TL decay time for ZnS:Mn was found to be 292 ± 58 μs, which is totally consistent with earlier measurements that did not use impact as an excitation source. Further, the emission of TL from ZnS:Mn undergoing hypervelocity impact has been demonstrated to have a significant component at the known peak emission wavelength of ZnS:Mn of 585 nm. Small TL emission generated as a result of hypervelocity impact was also observed from ZnS:Cu. The most intriguing conclusion from this research is that it may be possible to discriminate impact velocity by measuring the time-integrated luminosity of TL phosphors. An ability to measure the velocity of a hypervelocity impact is a significant indicator of the potential usefulness for this concept for use as an impact sensor in future spacecraft.