Multispectral athermal fading rate measurements of K-feldspar

This study reports athermal fading rates in K-feldspar grains extracted from sediments of varied ages and provenances. Multiple combinations of stimulation and emission spectral regions were examined to identify an optimum combination that provides a luminescence signal with minimal athermal fading. Stimulation wavelengths used were IR (855 ± 33 nm), green (525 ± 30 nm), blue (470 ± 20 nm), and violet (405 ± 15 nm), and detection windows were broad-UV (260–400 nm), narrow-UV (327–353 nm), and blue (320–520 nm). Athermal fading rates using a single stimulation and sequential double stimulation combinations were estimated. For single stimulation, the average fading rates (g<inf>AV</inf>) ranged from 6.6 to 7.9% per decade. Sequential double stimulation comprising post green-blue (pGB), post blue-violet (pBV), post blue-IR (pBIR), and post violet-IR (pVIR) gave fading rates ranging from 2.0 to 0.0% per decade. The minimum fading rate value g<inf>AV</inf> = 0.0 ± 0.1% per decade was obtained for pVIR stimulation, and this highlights it as a potential candidate for dating sediments such that the tedium and time of fading measurements can be minimized.