On the luminescence properties of adularia feldspar

Luminescence properties of feldspars have been used as a tool in the fields of archaeological and geological dating and retrospective dosimetry. In this study, thermoluminescence (TL), radioluminescence (RL), cathodoluminescence (CL) and phosphorescence (PP) emission spectra of a well-characterised adularia from Saint Gothard, a potassium rich feldspar (KAlSi3O8) are reported. In spite of the complex structure of the luminescence emission spectra, there are only a limited number of specific useful bands for dosimetric purposes. The range of the observed luminescence spectra was 200–800 nm and spectral data represented can be fitted by six dominant overlapping Gaussian-shaped curves peaked at 300, 380, 430, 480, 550 and 680 nm.