Resolving luminescence in spatial and compositional domains

It is desirable to be able to establish the relationship between the spatial distribution of luminescence and chemical composition/mineralogy. This is especially true in complex, heterogeneous samples such as solid coarse-grained rock slices and separated feldspar grains, where the internal dose rate is very dependent on the effective size of luminescent regions of the sample. The addition of spectral information would then help to give further insights into luminescence production mechanisms.
A high sensitivity imaging attachment to the Risø TL/OSL Reader for investigating the spatial distribution of OSL and TL from natural and artificial phosphors has recently been developed (Kook et al., 2015). When combined with a Bruker μ-XRF facility and a high sensitivity spectrometer attachment, it is possible to investigate the relationship between the spatial distribution of luminescence, the distribution of chemical composition/mineralogy and the associated excitation and emission spectra.
Here laboratory measurements undertaken using solid rock samples are presented and the observed relationships and their dosimetric implications are discussed.