Non-luminescent nature of the planar deformation features in shocked quartz from the Ries impact structure, Germany: A new interpretation

Abstract

Quartz grains from the Ries impact structure containing shock-induced microstructures were investigated using Scanning Electron Microscopy in cathodoluminescence (SEM-CL), secondary electron (SEM-SE) and back-scattered electron (SEM-BSE) modes as well as Mott:Seitz analysis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the mechanism by which CL detects Planar Deformation Features (PDFs) in quartz, which is one of the most important indicators of shock metamorphism in rock-forming minerals. PDFs are micron-scale features not easily identified using optical microscopy or scanning electron microscopy. The CL spectrum of PDFs in quartz that has suffered relatively high shock pressure shows no or a relatively weak emission band at around 385 nm, whereas an emission band with a maximum near 650 nm is observed independent of shock pressure. Thus, the∼385 nm intensity in shocked quartz demonstrates a tendency to decrease with increasing shock metamorphic stage, whereas the 650 nm band remains fairly constant. The result indicates that the emission band at 385 nm is related to the deformed structure of quartz as PDFs.