Deep traps determining long-term sustainable mechanoluminescence for 16-day continuous real time monitoring of...

Here, we have found X-ray activated Sr₂SiO₄: Dy³⁺, Li⁺ can produce long-term sustainable mechanoluminescence (ML) due to the existence of deep traps, which can be utilized to realize 16-day continuous real time monitoring of mutation load. The thermoluminescence results have revealed that the X-ray induced sufficient deeply trapped electrons can provide enough "bullets" to produce long time stable and strong ML signals. These sustainable ML signals from Sr₂SiO₄: Dy³⁺, Li⁺ can realize 16-day continuous real time monitoring of mutation load, which signal/noise ratios still reached at 0.21 (2000N) and 0.41 (4000 N) even after 16 days decay. Furthermore, the X-ray induced ML intensity increased linearly with the increase of compressive load, indicating that the applied load can be detected accurately based on the ML intensity. These results indicated that X-ray irradiated Sr₂SiO₄: Dy³⁺, Li⁺ can achieve ultra long, high-sensitivity real-time monitoring of mutation load, and have great potential in early warning of emergency disaster such as bridge fracture, ship panel damage, and tunnel collapse.