Glass imitation ruby - spectra

This is a cheap imitation ruby made of glass (paste). It may be cheap and it may be an imitation, but it has an extraordinary transmission and fluorescence spectrum. Surely a spectroscopists 'best buy'!

The transmission spectrum (dark blue line) shows some weak blue-green transmission but almost 100% transparency in the red. There are narrower absorption features due to the presence of selenium - often used in glass manufacture to counter the green caused by iron impurities.

The fluorescence spectrum excited by the 404nm laser (red line) shows the lanthanide rare earth emissions very similarly to the case of apatite and agrellite - with quite strong NIR emission from neodymium. Fluorescence excited by white light (grey line) shows remarkably strong NIR emission but the green-red emission has a different character.

The micrograph shows the back of the 'gem' illuminated with strong white light (a quartz-halogen fibre lamp with an IR-reducing blue filter) and exhibits the green peak seen in the spectrum.

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