We tested the reliability of infrared-radiofluorescence (IR-RF) dating of K-feldspar on samples of known age. We compare several measurement protocols and analysis variants and determine the most appropriate version. Additionally, we compare these results with those obtained using infrared photoluminescence (IRPL), an alternative dating method for K-feldspar, for the same samples. Our results confirm the dating potential of IR-RF and highlight similarities and differences to other methods.

The µDose system is an innovative analytical instrument developed for the cost- and time-efficient determination of environmental radionuclide concentrations required for the calculation of sedimentation ages in palaeo-environmental and geo-archaeological research. The results of our study suggest that accuracy and precision of µDose measurements are comparable to those of well-established methods and that the new approach shows the potential to become a standard tool in environmental dosimetry.