Optical dating in a new light: A direct, non-destructive probe of trapped electrons
書誌事項
- 公開日
- 2017-09-26
- 権利情報
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- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
- DOI
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- 10.1038/s41598-017-10174-8
- 公開者
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
説明
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Optical dating has revolutionized our understanding of Global climate change, Earth surface processes, and human evolution and dispersal over the last ~500 ka. Optical dating is based on an anti-Stokes photon emission generated by electron-hole recombination within quartz or feldspar; it relies, by default, on destructive read-out of the stored chronometric information. We present here a fundamentally new method of optical read-out of the trapped electron population in feldspar. The new signal termed as Infra-Red Photo-Luminescence (IRPL) is a Stokes emission (~1.30 eV) derived from NIR excitation (~1.40 eV) on samples previously exposed to ionizing radiation. Low temperature (7–295 K) spectroscopic and time-resolved investigations suggest that IRPL is generated from excited-to-ground state relaxation within the principal (dosimetry) trap. Since IRPL can be induced even in traps remote from recombination centers, it is likely to contain a stable (non-fading), steady-state component. While IRPL is a powerful tool to understand details of the electron-trapping center, it provides a novel, alternative approach to trapped-charge dating based on direct, non-destructive probing of chronometric information. The possibility of repeated readout of IRPL from individual traps will open opportunities for dating at sub-micron spatial resolution, thus, marking a step change in the optical dating technology.</jats:p>
収録刊行物
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- Scientific Reports
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Scientific Reports 7 (1), 2017-09-26
Springer Science and Business Media LLC