Ion Beam Induced Luminescence capabilities for the analysis of coarse-grained river sediments

Abstract: In this work the Ion Beam Induced Luminescence (IBIL) capabilities for the analysis of geological mobile sediment samples from the beds of three major rivers flowing in the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy) is presented in the first application of this technique to characterize such samples. Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) spectra were also measured and discussed to give indications for the identification of the main luminescence features. The evolution of the different IBIL components with the irradiation dose was studied and their correlation to matrix defects outlined. Finally, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the IBIL evolving spectra was performed to verify the capability of this approach to discriminate among the different samples.