Since cathodoluminescence microscopy was first introduced in the geosciences in the middle sixties a lot of scientific work has been done using this method.

Today CL microscopy is an indispensable tool to study the microstructure and composition of hard rocks, carbonate rocks, volcanic rocks and ash, fossil shells and skeletons etc. in the geosciences.

Furthermore, it has become an important tool for the characterization of ceramic, glass, concrete, cement clinkers, fly ash and other solids in the materials science.

Here are some examples (to be continued) of the main fields of application of a lumic CL microscope:

• geology and mineralogy
• materials science