A new time-resolved optically stimulated luminescence system has been
assembled. It has a stimulation range from 400 nm to > 2 mu m and has
a temporal resolution of 5 ns thus permitting measurements of lifetime
s down to the order of tens of nanoseconds. Measurements with a set of
six feldspars (orthoclase, albite, sanidine and oligoclase) have been
made using 850 nm stimulation during which recombination luminescence
is observed. Strong similarities, but also marked differences, were f
ound between the samples. Lifetimes range from a few tens of nanosecon
ds to tens of us. Measurements of these samples have also been made in
three different detection regions from 300 to 600 nm, appearing to re
veal associations between some of the emission bands and particular li
fetimes. Investigations of the dependence upon sample temperature have
also been performed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.