Abstract
NATURAL plagioclase from terrestrial sources exhibits a cathodal luminescence spectrum which consists in general of three emission bands1,2. The emission band in the blue region of the spectrum is thought to be associated with lattice defects2, but the other emission bands are caused by transition-metal impurities present in concentrations of the order of 100–1,000 p.p.m. In particular, the emission band centred at 560 nm has been ascribed to Mn2+ ions substituting in Ca2+ sites, and the emission band on the edge of the infrared has been shown to be caused by Fe3+ ions probably in tetrahedral Al3+ sites3. The relative intensities of these emission bands vary from sample to sample, but the Fe3+ emission is often dominant in natural terrestrial plagioclases. These conclusions, concerning the nature of the luminescence centres involved, were arrived at by studying the emission characteristics of selectively activated, high purity, synthetic plagioclases3. Optical measurements presented there show that, using excitation spectroscopy, the detection of Fe3+ is possible in the plagioclase fraction of lunar fines.
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References
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TELFER, D., WALKER, G. Optical detection of Fe3+ in lunar plagioclase. Nature 258, 694–695 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/258694a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/258694a0
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