CL Low Temperature Accessories
Both batch type accessories and continuous flow accessories are available.
Your CL instrument can be refitted to perform low temperature analysis. The batch type of chillable sample holder requires no alteration of most instruments. Continuous flow instruments require elevation of chamber by 15 mm.
Batch Type Accessories
Chillable Sample Holder
The chillable sample holder is useful for a few minerals. Quartz is one example because its CL intensity usually increases dramatically at lower temperatures. For example, consider a sample of dolostone containing fine-grained quartz. At room temperature, the dolomite CL overwhelms the quartz grains and one cannot see them. At low temperatures, however, the dolomite CL remains about the same, but the quartz CL increases, and it is quite easy to see the amount and the distribution. Whether low temperature CL enhances the observation of the zoning in quartz is not yet answered.
Chillable sample holders are available and can be ordered separately for RELION equipment.
The examples below show a prehnite sandstone at room temperature and at low temperature. The intensity of the quartz CL is greatly increased at low temperature and all of the blue-luminescing grains in B are quartz grains which were not recognized easily at room temperature.
For a closer look at any of these examples, click the thumbnail photo.
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Prehnite, Room Temperature, TrL* |
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Prehnite, Room Temperature, CL** |
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Prehnite, Low Temperature, CL** |
*TrL = Transmitted Light
**CL = Cathodoluminscence
