LAUSR

Abstract Structural, compositional and thermoluminescence (TL) properties of microcline (KAlSi3O8) collected from Northeastern region of India are reported. The structural and compositional analyses confirm the presence of microcline phase in the sample. The average crystallite size of microcline is estimated as (89.05 ± 0.13) nm. TL measured at 1 °C/s from a sample irradiated to 40 Gy produces five glow peaks at 90, 123, 166, 298 and 391 °C. Of these, the peak at 123 °C is the most intense. An analysis of the dependence of peak maxima (Tm) with preheat temperature (Tstop) reveals that the glow curve is composed of several closely spaced overlapping peaks. The dependence of the activation energy (E) on preheat temperature is consistent with a continuum distribution of electron traps with activation energy between 0.71 eV and 1.15 eV. The dose response of the prominent peak at 123 °C is quantitatively superlinear within the range 1–100 Gy of beta irradiation dose. The TL fades between irradiation and measurement in a manner suggestive of quantum tunnelling of trapped electrons between the trapping levels of microcline.