IDENTIFICATION OF GASEOUS OXYGEN AND NITROGEN IN BUBBLE INCLUSIONS INBI4(GEO4)3 (BGO) CRYSTALS BY MEANS OF RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY

Bubble inclusions in BGO crystals have been studied by means of Raman spectroscopy. Since the crystals were grown under ambient atmospheric conditions, we-focused our attention on oxygen and nitrogen. Both spec ies are diatomic homonuclear molecules which are vibrationally and rot ationally Raman active. Concerning the vibrational part of the 02 and N2 Raman spectra, no evidence was found for the presence of both gases . However, in the spectrum below the lowest 64 cm-1 energy mode of BGO three faint peaks were found which show the characteristic features o f the rotational spectra of O2 and N2. It was found that the compositi on of the inclusion atmosphere was enriched by oxygen compared to the composition of the air.