Thermally stimulated depolarization currents in quartz and mixed alkali silicate glasses

Thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC) technique was used to monitor (in the range 100-620 K) the dielectric relaxations of (1) silica glasses of different origin and impurity contents (mainly Al and OH) and (2) soda-lime silicate (SLS) glasses, in which K⁺ and Ag⁺ were also substituted for Na⁺. In the SLS glasses three TSDC bands appear at temperatures lower than the main band of SiO₂ specimens: the position of two peaks depends on the nature of the monovalent ion. The polarization phenomena were larger in SLS than in SiO₂ glasses. The peak position and amplitudes were studied as a function of the polarization field, temperature and time. The origin of the relaxations is discussed