Correlation of basic TL, OSL and IRSL properties of ten K-feldspar samples of various origins

•OSL and IRSL bleaching behavior of ten K-feldspar samples is presented.•OSL and IRSL decay curves were component resolved using tunneling model.•The growth of integrated OSL and IRSL signals versus time was described by new expression based on tunneling model.•Correlation between TL, OSL and IRSL signals and of all properties with K-feldspar structure was discussed. Feldspars stand among the most widely used minerals in dosimetric methods of dating using thermoluminescence (TL), optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL). Having very good dosimetric properties, they can in principle contribute to the dating of every site of archaeological and geological interest. The present work studies basic properties of ten naturally occurring K-feldspar samples belonging to three feldspar species, namely sanidine, orthoclase and microcline. The basic properties studied are (a) the influence of blue light and infrared stimulation on the thermoluminescence glow-curves, (b) the growth of OSL, IRSL, residual TL and TL-loss as a function of OSL and IRSL bleaching time and (c) the correlation between the OSL and IRSL signals and the energy levels responsible for the TL glow-curve. All experimental data were fitted using analytical expressions derived from a recently developed tunneling recombination model. The results show that the analytical expressions provide excellent fits to all experimental results, thus verifying the tunneling recombination mechanism in these materials and providing valuable information about the concentrations of luminescence centers.