About the CSIRO Spectroscopy Database
Luminescence database
The CSIRO Luminescence Database is a free on-line reference tool for researchers in the fields of cathodoluminescence, photoluminescence, ionoluminescence, and related spectroscopy techniques. The database contains ~ 4000 entries of known luminescence emission lines, as well as ~ 300 luminescence spectra, all from a range of materials,including minerals and synthetic compounds.
The Luminescence Database is compiled from published literature on luminescence spectroscopy and both published and unpublished spectra, and all searches of the database return the relevant publication reference. If you would like to submit your publications and/or spectroscopy data to the database, please follow the instructions provided under the Adding to the database heading.
Significant contributors
The following researchers have most graciously provided luminescence spectra and images for inclusion within the Luminescence Database, and their contribution is most gratefully acknowledged:
- Prof. James O. Hamblen (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) — ultraviolet photoluminescence images of > 60 specimens containing > 50 mineral species.
- Prof. Michael Gaft (Ariel University, Israel) — photoluminescence spectra from 13 mineral species, from apophyllite to zircon
- Prof. Jens Götze (Freiberg University, Germany)- cathodoluminescence spectra from minerals
- Dr. Christoph Lenz (Horiba Jobin Yvon, Germany) — photoluminescence spectra of doped synthetic monazite, titanite, xenotime, and zircon
- Dr. Toon Coenen (Delmic, Netherlands)— cathodoluminescence spectra of gold, silica, and gadolinium oxide
A further 100+ spectra have been added to the database from measurements made by Colin MacRae, Nick Wilson and Aaron Torpy from the CSIRO Mineral Resources Microbeam Laboratory in Clayton, Australia.
Example photographs of mineral specimens and synthetic compounds displayed on this website were published in the public domain or under a Creative Commons license, and were sourced principally from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and Wikimedia Commons . Each image is displayed with the attribution statement from the original source of the image to give full credit to the authors of each work, along with a hyperlink to the source.
SXES Database
The CSIRO Soft X-ray Emission Spectroscopy Database, like the Luminescence Database, is a free on-line reference that allows researchers to inspect and compare > 140 high-resolution SXES spectra from > 70 elements measured from > 100 materials (both minerals and synthetic compounds.)
The spectra in the SXES database were collected by Colin MacRae, Nick Wilson, and Aaron Torpy, from the Microbeam Laboratory of CSIRO Mineral Resources, in Clayton, Australia.
Reflectance Database
The CSIRO Reflectance Database, like the Luminescence Database, is a free on-line reference that allows researchers to inspect and compare high-resolution optical reflectance spectra from minerals and combinations of minerals.
The Australian and international geoscience community is using reflectance spectral signatures of reference mineral samples to efficiently and objectively identify and characterise mineral groups and species by means of proximal and remote spectral sensing technologies. Applications range from regional mineral exploration using spaceborne technologies to identifying deleterious minerals encountered in ore processing plants and soil classification for land use management. Publicly available spectral reference libraries (SRL) of rock forming minerals in reflectance mode are crucial for the processing of the voluminous hyperspectral data sets.
The CSIRO-led National Virtual Core Library project (NVCL), an NCRIS-funded AuScope infrastructure program supporting Australian researchers, has collected reflectance spectral signatures from a wide range of validated reference mineral samples. The aim of this work is to support the geoscience community with high quality and validated library spectra that are required for rapid whilst objective mineral characterisation. Some of the here available reference library spectra are built into CSIRO's The Spectral Geologist Software and presented in the following publications:
- Laukamp, C., Rodger, A., LeGras, M., Lampinen, H., Lau, I., Pejcic, B., Stromberg, J., Francis, N., Ramanaidou, E. (2021): Mineral physicochemistry underlying feature-based extraction of mineral abundance and composition from shortwave, mid and thermal infrared reflectance spectra. Minerals, 11(4), 347. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/min11040347
- LeGras, M., Laukamp, C., Lau, I.C., Mason, P. (2018): NVCL Spectral Reference Library - Phyllosilicates Part 2: Micas. CSIRO report EP183095. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25919/5b5625be3f1b0
- LeGras, M., Laukamp, C., Lau, I.C., Mason, P. (2019) NVCL Spectral Reference Library –Al2SiO5 Polymorphs. CSIRO, Australia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25919/5f2075ba74425
- LeGras, M., Stromberg, J., Lau, I.C., Mason, P., Laukamp, C., (2019): CSIRO Spectral Reference Libraries – Updates FY2019. CSIRO report EP196076. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/min11040347
- LeGras, M.; Laukamp, C. (2019): NVCL Spectral Reference Library—Pyroxenes and Pyroxenoids; CSIRO Report EP184276; CSIRO: Canberra, Australia, 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25919/5f2075c06d660
- Pejcic, B., Shelton, T., LeGras, M., Laukamp, C., Francis, N., Lau, I. (2021): Mid infrared spectral library. CSIRO report EP2021-1148, 86 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25919/5b6n-n462
- Pejcic, B., Shelton, T., Laukamp, C., Lau, I. LeGras, M. (2022): Visible-Near Infrared Spectral library. CSIRO report EP2022-3494, 62 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25919/whwy-ma94
- Pejcic, B., Shelton, T., Pinchand, T., Laukamp, C., Owen, N. (2023): Geochemical and mineralogical validation of rock samples for the spectral reference library: Part 1. CSIRO report EP2023-4515, 44 pp.
- Schodlok, M.C., Green, A., Huntington, J.A. (2016): Reference Library of Thermal Infrared Mineral Reflectance Spectra for the HyLogger-3 Drill Core Logging System. Aust. J. Earth Sci. 2016, 63, 941–949. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08120099.2016.1234508
How to search the database
Please refer to the help page for instructions on using the database. If you require assistance, please contact us via spectroscopy@csiro.au.
Adding to the database
If you wish to submit updates to the Luminescence Database, please e-mail spectroscopy@csiro.au and include the following information:- Publication reference.
- Material name and chemical formula.
- Line / band wavelength or energy, in units of eV or nm.
- Luminescence emitter (e.g., Er3+, intrinsic, etc), if known.
- Spectrum/spectra, as CSV, text or EMSA, if available.
- An image of the sample material, if available.
About Us
The Spectroscopy Databases are brought to you by the Microbeam Laboratory of CSIRO Mineral Resources, located in Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Our main research activities include:
- Elemental microanalysis and mapping
- Cathodoluminescence spectroscopy
- Soft x-ray spectroscopy and quantum mechanical modelling
The Luminescence Database was compiled by Colin MacRae, Nick Wilson, Aaron Torpy (all from CSIRO Mineral Resources), and Jackson Smith (Applied Physics, RMIT University).
This website (and its predecessors) was developed by Steve McMahon and Julia Anticev (CSIRO IM&T), Aaron Torpy (CSIRO Mineral Resources), and Maria-Jose Montoya (Applied Physics, RMIT University).