CHAPTER 10

High-Resolution Cathodoluminescence 10
Studies of Feldspar Minerals
JENS GOTZE, MATTHIAS R. KRBETSCHEK,
DIRK HABERMANN, DIETER WOLF

1
Introduction

Feldspars are the most important rock-forming minerals occurring in igneous,

metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Cathodoluminescence (CL) of feldspars is
an important tool in interpreting genetic conditions of rock formation and alter-
ation (Marshall 1988). Furthermore, feldspars are widely used as dosimeters in
dating geological and archaeological materials by thermally or optically stimulat-
ed luminescence (TL, OSL).
Feldspars formed under different conditions may show different lumines-
cence emission characteristics, depending on crystallization environment and
trace-element uptake during growth or recrystallization. Thus, different CL col-
ors permit rapid visual distinction of different feldspar phases, compositional
zoning, fine-scale structures, and mineral intergrowth (Fig. lSA-C). Usually it is
quite easy to distinguish the distribution of alkali feldspars and plagioclases
using CL. Furthermore, variations in color and intensity, which probably repre-
sent variations in the concentration of activators or defects, can be used to dis-
tinguish different feldspar generations or to provide useful information in
provenance evaluation of clastic sediments. Within single feldspar grains, alter-
ation, exsolution, zoning, and related phenomena are often revealed by CL.
Moreover, the sharp contrast between detrital and authigenic feldspars enables
authigenic overgrowths on detrital feldspar grains to be detected (Kastner 1971).
Several studies have illustrated the usefulness of CL investigations in the study
of authigenic feldspar in sandstones or carbonate rocks (Marshall 1988 and ref-
erences therein).
In the present study CL characteristics of terrestrial feldspar samples covering
the Or-Ab-An ternary system of lunar plagioclases and of Ba-feldspar (celsian)
were analyzed by optical and high-resolution spectral CL to investigate the caus-
es of the different luminescence behavior of feldspar and to identify possible acti-
vator elements.

M. Pagel et al. (eds.), Cathodoluminescence in Geosciences

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2000
246 JENS GOTZE et al.

2
Analytical Procedure

In the present study CL spectra of 30 feldspar samples were measured covering

the Or-Ab-An ternary system (Fig. I). The samples were characterized by CL and
optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, major- and trace-element analysis. Addi-
tional samples of lunar plagioclases from Luna 20 and Luna 24 and Ba-feldspar
(celsian) were also investigated.
Monomineralic feldspar fractions were separated from mineral pieces and
rocks. After careful crushing and manual separation under a microscope, the
material was milled and sieved. Heavy-liquid density separation was carried out
on the 100-200 Ilm grain size fraction followed by HCI etching (10%). Combined
X-ray diffraction analysis and quantitative analysis of major elements were used
to characterize the feldspar samples. Difficulties of measuring the concentrations
of trace elements in feldspar minerals at low levels by electron probes often pre-
vent a correlation between CL intensity and the concentration of possible activa-
tor elements. Therefore, trace element contents were measured using ICP-MS and
atomic emission spectrometry, although these methods allow no spatial resolu-
tion of the element distribution within the analyzed crystals.
Optical and CL microscopy were carried out on polished thin sections of the
samples using a "hot cathode" CL microscope at 14 kV and with a current densi-

Or

Abo 25 50 75

mol-%
Fig. 1. The ternary Or-Ab-An feldspar system showing the position of the samples investigated