Kinetic analysis of natural and beta-induced TL in albite

Kinetic parameters are evaluated for the thermoluminescence (TL) of geological samples of the feldspar albite (NaAlSi₃O₈). Both natural and laboratory-induced TL curves are studied between RT and 500°C. The natural TL shows an intense peak at about 340°C while the lab-induced glow curve consists of a peak near 200°C, with a long high temperature tail. The kinetic analysis of the two glow curves shows that both can be described in terms of the same series of discrete traps, with the activation energies: 0.64, 0.71, 0.93, 1.08, 1.25, 1.64 and 1.85 eV. The intensities of the low temperature peaks in the natural TL were found to be rather high in view of the half-lives of the relevant traps. This might be due to tunnelling of charge carriers from deeper traps. This should be taken into consideration when samples of albite are used for geological and archaeological dating or in accident dosimetry.