Ionizing radiation applied on food eliminates harmful microorganisms, prevents sprouting and delays ripening. All methods for detection of irradiated food are based on physical, chemical, biological or microbiological changes caused by the treatment with ionizing radiation. When minerals are exposed to ionizing radiation, they accumulate radiation energy and store it in the crystal lattice, by which some electrons remain trapped in the lattice. When these minerals are exposed to optical stimulation, trapped electrons are released. The phenomenon, called optically stimulated luminescence or photostimulated luminescence, occurs when released electrons recombine with holes from luminescence centers in the lattice, resulting in emission of light with certain wavelengths.
In this paper, the results of measurements performed on seven different samples of herbs and spices are presented. In order to make a comparison between luminescence signals from samples treated with different doses, unirradiated samples are treated with Co-60 with doses of 1 kGy, 5 kGy and 10 kGy. In all cases it was shown that the higher the applied dose, the higher the luminescence signal.
Photoluminescence of HgCdTe epitaxial films and nanostructures and electroluminescence of InAs(Sb,P) light-emitting diode (LED) nanoheterostructures were studied. For HgCdTe-based structures, the presence of compositional fluctuations, which localized charge carriers, was established. A model, which described the effect of the fluctuations on the rate of the radiative recombination, the shape of luminescence spectra and the position of their peaks, was shown to describe experimental photoluminescence data quite reasonably. For InAs(Sb,P) LED nanoheterostructures, at low temperatures (4.2–100 K) stimulated emission was observed. This effect disappeared with the temperature increasing due to the resonant ‘switch-on’ of the Auger process involving transition of a hole to the spin-orbit-splitted band. Influence of other Auger processes on the emissive properties of the nanoheterostructures was also observed. Prospects of employing II–VI and III–V nanostructures in light-emitting devices operating in the mid-infrared part of the spectrum are discussed.
Luminescence dating is based mainly on the dosimetric properties of quartz and feldspar. These minerals are among the most popular found on Earth, resulting in the possibility of using luminescence methods in practically any environment. Currently, quartz remains the best recognized mineral in terms of dosimetric properties, particularly with regards to results obtained for quartz grains, which are regarded as being the most reliable in luminescence dating. Supporters of luminescence methods are constantly growing, however, these groups do not always have sufficient knowledge to avoid even the most basic of issues that may be encountered overall – from the process of sampling through to the awareness of what a single luminescence result represents. The present paper provides an overview of several practical aspects of luminescence dating such as correct sampling procedures and all necessary information regarding the calculation of the dose rate and equivalent dose with particular reference to potential problems that occur when the age of the sample is being determined. All these aspects are crucial for obtaining a reliable dating result, on the other hand, they remain a potential source of uncertainty.
The Ag8SnSe6 argyrodite compound was synthesized by the direct melting of the elementary Ag, Sn and Se high purity grade stoichiometric mixture in a sealed silica ampoule. The prepared polycrystalline material was characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) reflection and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. XRD showed that the Ag8SnSe6 crystallizes in orthorhombic structure, Pmn21 space group with lattice parameters: а = 7.89052(6) Å, b = 7.78976(6) Å, c = 11.02717(8) Å. Photoluminescence spectra of the Ag8SnSe6 polycrystalline wafer show two bands at 1675 nm and 1460 nm. Absorption edge position estimated from optical reflectance spectra is located in the 1413–1540 nm wavelength range.
In the paper the analysis of up-conversion (UC) luminescence in 0.5Yb2O3/(0.25-1)Eu2O3 (mol.%) co-doped germanate glass and optical fibre has been investigated. Up-conversion emission of bands at 591, 616, 652, 701 nm to which correspond Eu3+: 5D0 → 7F1, 5D0 → 7F2, 5D0 → 7F3, 5D0 → 7F4 transitions, respectively was obtained as a result of cooperative energy transfer between Yb3+ and Eu3+ ions. The highest up-conversion emission (Yb3+ → Eu3+ energy transfer efficiency η = 24%) was obtained in 0.5Yb2O3/0.75Eu2O3 co-doped glass. Comparison of up-conversion and down-conversion luminescence spectra of bulk glass, glass fibre and different length double-clad optical fibre (up to 5 m) showed subtle differences in shape of the spectrum. In comparison to down – conversion emission (λexc = 405 nm) main UC luminescence band is red-shifted by 2 nm and is characterized by 5 nm greater full – width half – maximum (FWHM).