Dose Response of the E₁’ Centre in Quartz

The E₁’ centre is one of the most common paramagnetic defects observed by electron spin resonance (ESR) in natural quartz, the formation of which is, however, quite complicated. The dose response to gamma ray irradiation of the E₁’ centre in natural quartz was systematically investigated in the present study to find that its dose response depends on the heating conditions of the sample before irradiation. The signal intensity decreases on irradiation when quartz has been heated up to 300°C, while it increases when heated above 400°C. The phenomena can be explained by the electronic processes that heating supplies electronic holes to the oxygen vacancies while gamma ray irradiation supplies electrons.