Pulsed cathodoluminescence of feldspars

We have studied the spectral and kinetic characteristics of pulsed cathodoluminescence of feldspars (albite, microcline, amazonite) in the time range 10⁻⁸–10⁻² sec and the temperature range 28–300 K. We have shown that the bands in the UV region of the spectrum (5.39, 4.35, and 3.75 eV) are due to intrinsic luminescence of the crystals. The ratio of the intensities of these bands characterizes the phase composition of the mineral: in the luminescence spectra of microcline, for all temperatures the 4.35 eV band dominates; in the pulsed cathodoluminescence spectra of albite, the bands at 3.75 eV (at 300 K) and 5.39 eV (at 28 K) dominate. The parameters of the luminescence decay kinetics for the impurity ions Fe³⁺ and Mn²⁺ are more sensitive to local perturbations of the lattice structure than the position of the emission band maximum, and can be an effective indicator of the origin of the mineral. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 3, pp. 339–343, May–June, 2006.