Thermoluminescence at a heating rate threshold in stressed fused silica.

The emissive properties of proton implanted fused silica surfaces have been studied by laser beam annealing. When submitted to a high thermal step from a focused CO2 laser, an intense near infra-red transient incandescence (TI) peak rises from stressed silica. The TI presents the characteristics of a thermoluminescent (TL) emission that occurs above a thermal rate threshold.