Abstract
The thermoluminescence (TL) glow curve of natural monoclinic perthite has a broad band with peaks at 210, 250, 290 and 340 °C in the blue region. The initial rise measurements indicate that these peaks have thermal activation energies of 0.96, 1.12, 1.18 and 1.21 eV, respectively. The laboratory-induced peaks at 120, 150 and 200 °C have thermal activation energies of 0.12, 0.23 and 0.59 eV, respectively. The pre-heat at 900 °C for 2 h and air-cooling enhanced the TL sensitivity of perthite by up to ∼4 times of that annealed at 400 °C.
Thermoluminescence fading of the disordered perthite was monitored six months after storage in the dark at room temperature. The properties of fading are well explained with the localized transition model. The results show that perthite is a promising material for dosimetry of luminescence dating.