Use of optical properties of LiF in radiation protection dosimetry

Optical absorption spectra of LiF:Mg, Ti thermoluminescence (TL) materials have been determined and used in radiation absorbed dose measurements. Samples were irradiated with different gamma doses (0???1.022 Gy) with dose rate of 12.78 mGy/min and also for different X-ray beam qualities. It was found that there is no significant absorption edge, and the optical absorption increases with increasing gamma doses. Peak intensities of trapping levels showed a linear increase with increasing X-ray or gamma doses. The variation of the optical density with X-ray or gamma doses is energy independent. The TL readings were not affected when the samples were first measured optically. The linearity of the optical density–dose relationship is found to be useful in radiation protection dosimetry.     

Thermally stimulated luminescence of Mg-doped ZnO Nanophosphors

Nanosized ZnO:Mg phosphors were synthesized through a controlled chemical reaction. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that Mg entered in a substitutive way in Zn sites. To investigate their thermoluminescence (TL) properties, some samples were exposed to beta-particle irradiation. The results reported here show that Mg doping improves ZnO TL features that are important for TL dosimetry applications, such as the shape of the glow curve, the temperature at which the maximum TL intensity is observed, and the TL fading and reproducibility. No saturation clues of the TL response as a function of the dose is observed for doses below 1600 Gy.     

Effect of ion irradiation on the thermoluminescence properties of K2Ca2(SO4)3 phosphor

This paper presents the thermoluminescence (TL) studies of ion-irradiated potassium–calcium mixed sulfate phosphor. The sample was prepared by the solid-state diffusion method. The X-ray diffraction study of the prepared sample suggests an orthorhombic structure with an average particle size of 0.16 μ m. The samples were irradiated with 1.2 MeV argon ions at fluences varying between 10¹¹ and 10¹⁵ ions/cm². The argon ions penetrate to a depth of 1.93 μ m and lose their energy mainly via electronic stopping. Due to ion irradiation, a large number of defects such as oxygen vacancies, radicals and color centers are formed in the sample. TL glow curves were recorded for each of the ion fluences. A linear increase in the intensity of TL glow peaks was found with an increase in the ion dose from 72 kGy to 720 MGy. The kinetic parameters associated with the prominent glow peaks were calculated using glow curve deconvolution, different glow curve shapes and sample heating rate methods.     

Study of the thermoluminescence dosimetric properties of window glass

This paper presents the main thermoluminescence (TL) dosimetric characteristics of commercial Turkish transparent window glass. The structure of the glow curves, including the number of peaks, was found to be dose-dependent. A low-temperature glow peak that at 160 °C shifts to higher temperatures was also observed with increasing storage time at room temperature. This result suggests that this TL glow peak is actually made up of two or more overlapping peaks. These we have attributed to the glow peaks at lower temperatures, which decay faster than the ones at higher temperatures with storage time. The thermal fading of the window glass sample at room temperature showed a relatively sharp decay of about 60% occurring over a period of 28 days, after which the decay rate is small for a measured period of 250 days. In order to the improve the post-irradiation stability of the glow curve, the glass samples were heated after irradiation. To remove the unstable TL peaks responsible for the initial rapid fading, post-irradiation heating at 160 °C for 10 min was found to be the most suitable procedure. The dosimetric characteristics of the post-irradiation heated window glass examined in this study include fading, gamma photon dose-response, reproducibility, batch sensitivity, humidity influence, a dose-rate effect and photon energy response. Dose-response was found to be appropriate for dosimetry in the range 5 Gy to 10 kGy. The post-irradiation heating procedure did not affect the main dosimetric characteristics of the window glass samples. The results in this work suggest that the materials could, by using the TL technique, be a suitable candidate for alternative dose measurements in radiation processing, provided that a judicious choice of the post-irradiation heat temperature is made to minimize fading.     

The effect of heat treatment on the thermoluminescence of naturally-occurring calcites and their use as a gamma-ray dosimeter

The feasibility of using naturally-occurring calcite for gamma-ray dosimetry was investigated. Anneal treatment above 350°C increased the sensitivity of all radiation-induced TL peaks except the glow peaks above 300°C. On the other hand, annealing in air, at a temperature of 700°C caused a collapse in the TL sensitivity. The increase in TL efficiency was found to depend on the annealing temperature and time. Heating at 600°C for 5 h and quenching in ambient air are the optimum conditions for TL sensitivity enhancement in the calcite materials investigated. These results are explained using the energy scheme of the pre-dose model of Zimmerman (1971) and in terms of the impurity rearrangements in the crystal lattice induced by heating. It was found that the values of the kinetic parameters E, s and b for TL glow peaks remained unchanged for annealed samples. The TL dose–response curves for stable dosimetric peaks of annealed and unannealed calcite samples could be fitted to the same linear mathematical function. This implies that the annealing process probably does not change the nature of the trapping centers except the low temperature TL peaks at 125 and 160°C of flowstone. The TL dosimetric parameters of calcite samples annealed, including glow curves, fading characteristics, dose–responses, dose-rate responses and energy responses, have also been studied in detail. The response to gamma-rays of annealed calcite samples was found to be linear from 0.05 to 10⁴ Gy. The lower limit of observable doses for each calcite sample was about 0.05 Gy. This offers the possibility of applying the investigated materials for gamma-ray dosimetry within this useful range. These dosimeters can be used in various applications, such as, in industries related to chemical technology (polymerization), food processing and in determining the dose received by the patient during medical examination and treatment.     

Characteristics of TL and PTTL glow curves of gamma irradiated pure Li2B4O7 single crystals

The TL glow curve of X-ray irradiated pure and Cu-doped Li₂B₄O₇ shows that the most intense TL peak is at 160°C. In the present work the characteristics of the TL and PTTL glow curves from gamma irradiated pure Li₂B₄O₇ single crystal samples (prepared by Mitui Kinzoku Kougyo, Japan) have been studied. The samples were irradiated with different gamma doses (from 0.5 up to 500 Gy) using a ⁶⁰Co gamma ray source at a dose rate of 78 Gy h⁻¹. The TL glow curve shows three intense peaks (at 160°C, 260 and 305°C) and three weak ones (at 110, 140 and 220°C). The most intense TL peak is at 160°C, which agrees with the TL glow curve from X-ray irradiated samples [Kutomi Y. and Tomita A. (1990) TSEE and TL of Li₂B₄O₇:Cu single crystals. Radiat. Prot. Dosim. 33, 347–350]. The 305°C peak in gamma irradiated samples also appears to be very intense, which indicates its possible use in high-dose high-temperature dosimetry. Further, the characteristics of the PTTL glow curve have been studied as a function of ultraviolet exposure and number of repeated PTTL cycles.     

Thermoluminescence studies of γ-irradiated nanocrystalline Y3Al5O12

Nanocrystalline yttrium aluminum garnet (Y₃Al₅O₁₂) is synthesized by combustion technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of 900 °C annealed sample revealed a cubic structure. The average crystallite size is found to be 20.5 nm. γ-irradiated Y₃Al₅O₁₂ exhibits two thermoluminescence (TL) glows: a prominent one with a peak at ～410 K and another one with a peak at ～575 K. It is found that the TL glow peak intensity at 410 K increases, while its glow peak temperature is almost steady with an increase in the γ-dose. The effect of the heating rate on the TL glow curve is studied. It is found that T_m1 shifts towards higher temperature region while the I_m1 decreases with an increase in the heating rate. The TL glow curves are analyzed by Chen's peak shape method and the TL parameters are estimated.     

Thermo-luminescence kinetic parameters of γ-irradiated Sr4Al14O25:Eu2+, Dy3+ phosphors

In this paper, we present a detailed investigation of the thermo-luminescence (TL) kinetics of the long afterglow phosphor, Sr₄Al₁₄O₂₅:Eu²⁺,Dy³⁺, synthesized by the combustion method. Kinetic parameters such as the activation energy (E_α), the frequency factor (s) and the order of kinetics (b) were calculated using Chen's formulism. The crystalline structure of the phosphor was examined using X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The average particle size was found to be in the range of 45–52 nm. The optimum dopant concentrations were Eu (1 mol%) and that of Dy (2 mol%). The TL response of the phosphor was monitored after the samples were irradiated with a γ-dose using a ⁶⁰Co source in the 20-800 Gy range. A broad TL peak, (stretching from 328 to 410 K) with a maximum at 368 K was observed. With increasing irradiation dose, the main peak shifts toward higher temperatures. Symmetry factor calculations show that the main TL glow peak obeys second-order kinetics, which could be attributed to the creation of deep level traps. This means that γ-ray irradiation greatly affects the distribution of traps in the Sr₄Al₁₄O₂₅:Eu²⁺,Dy³⁺ phosphor. The phosphor showed a linear response with γ-dose.     

Thermoluminescence and photoluminescence studies on gamma irradiated CsI: Pb2+ crystals

Pure and Pb²⁺-doped CsI crystals have been grown by the Bridgemann technique. Optical absorption, thermoluminescence (TL) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements have been performed. In undoped and Pb²⁺-doped cesium iodide crystals, F-centers and V-centers have been produced at 770 nm and 350 nm, respectively. In Pb²⁺-doped crystals, additional centers at 373 nm, 290 nm and 258 nm bands have been produced. In undoped samples, only two glow peaks at 343 K and 373 K have been produced, and in Pb²⁺-doped samples additional glow peaks at 383 K and 423 K have been produced. For all the samples, TL emission, PL and excitation measurements have been performed.     

Thermoluminescence characteristics of hydrogenated amorphous zirconia

This paper reports the experimental results concerning the thermoluminescent (TL) characteristics of hydrogenated amorphous zirconium oxide (a-Zr:H) powder prepared by the sol–gel method. The advantages of this method are the homogeneity and the purity of the gels associated with a relatively low sintering temperature. Hydrogenated amorphous powder was characterized by thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction. The main TL characteristics investigated were the TL response as a function of the absorbed dose, the reproducibility of the TL readings and the fading. The undoped a-Zr:H powder presents a TL glow curve with two peaks centered at 150 and 260 °C, respectively, after beta irradiation. The TL response a-Zr:H as a function of the absorbed dose showed a linear behavior over a wide range. The results presented open the possibility to use this material as a good TL dosimeter.     

Study of the glow curve structure of the minerals separated from black pepper (Piper nigrum L.)

The inorganic mineral fraction extracted from black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) has been analysed using a thermoluminescence (TL) method, investigating the glow curve structure, including an evaluation of the kinetic parameters. Different grain sizes, i.e. 10, 74, and 149 μm, were selected from commercial black pepper. The X-ray diffraction of the inorganic fraction shows that quartz is the main mineral present in it. The samples were exposed to 1–25 kGy doses by gamma rays of ⁶⁰Co in order to analyse the thermally stimulated luminescence response as a function of the delivered dose. The glow curves show a complex structure for different grain sizes of the pepper mineral samples. The fading of the TL signal at room temperature was obtained after irradiation, and it was observed that the maximum peaks of the glow curves shift towards higher values of the temperature when the elapsed time from irradiation increases. It seems that the fading characteristic may be related to a continuous trap distribution responsible for the complex structure of the glow curve. Similar glow curves structure behaviour was found under ultraviolet irradiation of the samples. The activation energy and the frequency factor were determined from the glow curves of different grain sizes using a deconvolution programme because of the evident complexity of the structure.     

Thermoluminescence (TL) of europium-doped ZrO2 obtained by sol–gel method

This article reports the preparation and characterization of europium-doped zirconium oxide (ZrO₂:Eu³⁺) formed by homogeneous precipitation from propoxyde of zirconium [Zr(OC₃H₇)₄]. The alkoxide sol gel process is an efficient method to prepare the zirconium oxide matrix by the hydrolysis of alkoxide precursors followed by condensation to yield a polymeric oxo-bridged ZrO₂ network. All compounds were characterized by thermal analysis and the X-ray diffractometry method. The thermoluminescence (TL) emission properties of ZrO₂:Eu³⁺ under beta radiation effects are studied. The europium-doped sintered zirconia powder presents a TL glow curve with two peaks (Tmax) centered at around 204 and around 292 ^°C, respectively. TL response of ZrO₂:Eu³⁺ as a function of beta-absorbed dose was linear from 2 Gy up to 90 Gy. The europium ion (Eu³⁺)-doped ZrO₂ was found to be more sensitive to beta radiation than undoped ZrO₂ obtained by the same method and presented a little fading of the TL signal compared with undoped zirconium oxide.     

Luminescence from NaCl for application to retrospective dosimetry

The alkali halide NaCl (Common salt) is an environmentally-abundant phosphor of considerable potential for retrospective dosimetry and radiological event analysis due to its high sensitivity to ionising radiation when analysed by Thermoluminescence (TL), Optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) or Infrared-stimulated luminescence (IRSL). We report here aspects of luminescence from NaCl relevant to the development of valid protocols for measurement of recent ionising radiation exposure. The timescale of interest in this application is from days to decades, hence our emphasis is on detection and characterisation of TL emission in the 100–300 °C range, and of OSL and IRSL emissions measured following only low temperature preheating (160 °C). A collection of 19 salt samples was assembled, including samples of rock salt and domestic salt produced by evaporation from brine. Analysis of TL emission spectral changes, together with previously reported TL, OSL and IRSL sensitivity changes, confirmed activation of sensitivity change by exposure to temperatures exceeding 160 °C. Kinetic analysis using Chen's method found E = 0.943 eV and s = 5.1 × 10¹¹ s^?1 for the 100 °C TL peak, giving a lifetime at 20 °C consistent with previous calculations and in the range of 7–14 h.     

Thermoluminescence characterization of functionalized grafted polymers and its application for radiation dosimetry at low doses

Functionalized polymers were prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of binary monomer system acrylic acid/acrylamide (AAc/AAm) onto low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) films using direct radiation-grafting technique. Sulfonation was carried out for the prepared grafted copolymers using concentrated sulfuric acid (97%) at 60 ^°C for 15 min. The grafted and sulfonated grafted films found to have good properties such as thermal stability and hydrophilic properties. The sulfonated grafted films found to have a better hydrophilic character than the grafted ones due to ionic character resulted by this conversion. The thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics of a set of grafted and sulfonated films have been studied with regard to their use as off-line dosimeters in radiotherapy. The structural characterization has been performed by means of infrared spectroscopy. Their TL responses have been tested with radiotherapy beams of ⁶⁰Co photons in the dose range 0.1–7 Gy. The dosimetric characterization has yielded a very good reproducibility and is independent of the radiation energy. The TL signal is not influenced by the dose rate and exhibits a very low thermal fading. Moreover, the sensitivity of the samples compares favorably with that of the standard TLD100 dosimeters. Finally, at the same dose, the TL response for LDPE-g-P (AAm/AAc) films is higher than the PP-$g$-P(AAm$/$AAc), and the sulfonated grafted films are more sensitive to radiation than the grafted ones.     

Thermal lens spectrometry under excitation of a divergent pump beam

Thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) under excitation of a divergent pump beam is discussed in both conventional and microscopic TLS instruments. A refined thermal lens (TL) model was proposed for calculating the TL signal of a “finite TL element.” Experiments as well as comparison with numerical simulations demonstrated that the effective sample length for a certain pump beam profile was about six times the confocal distance of the pump beam for laser-excited case and 1.5 mm for incoherent light source-excited case. For laser-excited conventional TLS instrument or thermal lens microscope (TLM), an empirical formula of the optimum pump beam waist radius for maximum detection sensitivity was obtained at a given sample length. At larger pump beam waist radius of 7 μm, the TL signal was found 2.5 times lower compared to the diffraction limit; however, the resulting two orders of magnitude lower power density in the sample could be quite desirable for the detection of photolabile analytes. By investigating the influence of a finite TL element on the TL signal, we found that an optimal distance between the probe beam waist and the sample was needed to assure the maximum detection sensitivity and good response linearity. Under the optimal detection scheme, limit of detection of the laser-excited TLM at 4 mW power was evaluated to be 8.6 × 10^?9 M for 100-μm-thick ferroin solution, corresponding to an absorbance of 9.5 × 10^?7 absorbance units.     

Luminescence spectra of alkalifeldspars and plagioclases

Feldspars are widely used as dosimeters in dating archaeological and geological materials by thermally or optically stimulated luminescence (TL, OSL). The TL, (IR)OSL and phosphorescence (following gamma irradiation) spectra of 26 samples covering the orthoclase-albite-anorthite ternary system, which were characterized by microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis, were measured using the Freiberg high sensitive luminescence spectrometer. The range of observation for TL (up to 350°C) and phosphorescence was (200–800) nm. IR (880 nm) stimulated luminescence light has been detected between 330 nm and 660 nm. Representative examples of our systematic investigations on the luminescence behaviour of alkalifeldspars and plagioclases are presented.     

Thermoluminescence of the green emission band of calcite

The thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics of the green emission band of natural calcite are studied. The kinetic parameters of the natural and laboratory-induced defects were estimated. The γ-dose response was studied in the range of 0.01–10⁴ Gy. The fading rate at room temperature is monitored over a period of 30 days. The results showed that calcite has a potential use as a material for γ-ray TL dosimeters for food sterilization, testing of materials and other industrial or reactor procedures.     

Synthesis and luminescent properties of BaGd2O4:Dy3+, an novel scintillating phosphor

The BaGd_2?x O₄:xDy³⁺ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.08) phosphors were synthesized at 1,300 °C in air by the solid-state reaction route. The as-synthesized phosphors were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, photoluminescence excitation spectra, photoluminescence (PL) spectra, X-ray excited luminescence (XEL) spectra, and thermoluminescence (TL) spectra. It is found that the quenching concentration of Dy³⁺ ions in BaGd₂O₄ host is dependent on the selected excitation wavelength. The optimal PL intensity for the investigated BaGd_2?x O₄:xDy³⁺ phosphors is found to be x = 0.01, 0.02, and 0.04, upon excitation by 234, 277, and 350 nm ultraviolet light, respectively. The energy transfer among Dy³⁺ ions upon excitation by 350 nm is confirmed to be an electric dipole–dipole interaction mechanism based on the fitting of Huang’s rule. In addition, the intensive XEL from BaGd₂O₄:Dy³⁺ phosphor is observed by the naked eyes at room temperature, and TL properties of the investigated phosphors are analyzed and discussed. All the results imply that the investigated phosphors could be a promising scintillating phosphor.