Cathodoluminescence Explained. Episode 3: Analysis Modes for Geoscience Applications

In this webinar, we review the different hardware and analysis modes available in CL detectors, discussing the benefits and drawbacks of each when analyzing geoscience specimens. Cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy—the analysis of light emitted by a mineral or gemstone when excited by an electron source, typically a scanning electron microscope (SEM)—has proven to be a very effective microanalysis tool used to understand our geological history. Amongst other things, CL analysis is used in geochronology studies in determining zonation and late rims in zircons, revealing overgrowth, cementation, and fluid flow processes in metamorphic rocks, and, more recently, thermobarometry in petrographic samples through quantitative analysis of trace element distributions.