Factors affecting the Nd3+ (REE3+) luminescence of minerals

• Published in: Mineralogy and petrology Vol. 107; no. 3; pp. 415 - 428
• Main Authors: Lenz, Christoph, Talla, Dominik, Ruschel, Katja, Škoda, Radek, Götze, Jens, Nasdala, Lutz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 2013
• Subjects: Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geochemistry; Inorganic Chemistry; Mineralogy; Original Paper; Luminescence Signal; ZrSiO4; Luminescence Band; Structural Disorder; Luminescence Emission
• ISSN: 0930-0708; 1438-1168
• DOI: 10.1007/s00710-013-0286-2

In this paper, possibilities and limits of the application of REE
3+
luminescence (especially the Nd
3+
4
F
3/2
→
4
I
9/2
emission) as structural probe are evaluated. Important factors controlling the Nd
3+
luminescence signal are discussed, including effects of the crystal-field, crystal orientation, structural state, and temperature. Particular attention was paid to the study of the accessory minerals zircon (ZrSiO
4
), xenotime–(Y) (YPO
4
), monazite–(Ce) (CePO
4
) and their synthetic analogues. Based on these examples we review in short that (1) REE
3+
luminescence can be used as non-destructive phase identification method, (2) the intensities of certain luminescence bands are strongly influenced by crystal orientation effects, and (3) increased widths of REE
3+
-related emission bands are a strong indicator for structural disorder. We discuss the potential of luminescence spectroscopy, complementary to Raman spectroscopy, for the quantitative estimation of chemical (and potentially also radiation-induced) disorder. For the latter, emissions of Nd
3+
-related centres are found to be promising candidates.