Optically stimulated luminescence from CaSO4:Eu – Preliminary results

A new OSL phosphor CaSO₄:Eu was developed. The phosphor shows good OSL sensitivity which is about 55% of commercially available Al₂O₃:C. The phosphor also shows good TL sensitivity and the dosimetric peak, which appears around 186 °C, has sensitivity nearly 50% of Al₂O₃:C. After OSL readout of the irradiated sample, the TL peak around 250 °C depletes completely, with partial depletion of peak around 186 °C. Since the traps responsible for the high temperature peak are involved for the observed OSL, the sample shows low post-irradiation fading. The OSL decay is similar to Al₂O₃:C. Thus this phosphor due to its good OSL sensitivity, linear dose response, low fading and simple preparation technique could be useful for radiation dosimetry applications.     

Thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence in various phases of doped Na2SO4

The dependence of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) response due to crystal phase in Cu and Cu,Mg-doped Na₂SO₄ was studied. Study shows that the slowly cooled samples which crystallize in phase V show good OSL sensitivity whereas the quenched samples of Na₂SO₄ which crystallize in phase III irrespective of doping show no OSL sensitivity. However, during storage when phase III samples get converted to phase V, samples show OSL sensitivity comparable to freshly prepared samples in phase V. Hence, it is observed that TL–OSL properties of doped Na₂SO₄ are phase dependent .This study will be helpful in developing OSL phosphors in which phase plays an important role in deciding the desired properties.     

Thermoluminescence (TL) properties of Al2O3: C,Mg exposed to cobalt-60 gamma radiation doses

TL characteristics of powder form of Al₂O₃ doped with 0.1 mol% carbon and co-doped with different magnesium concentrations of 0.1 mol% and 0.2 mol% exposed to Cobalt-60 gamma ray at doses ranging from 5 Gy to 70 Gy were investigated. The recorded glow curves consist a dominant peak at 180 °C for a heating rate of 1 °C s⁻¹. The TL sample with 0.2 mol% Mg concentration have higher response compared to the sample with 0.1 mol% Mg concentration for a delivered dose of 5 Gy. The TL response has linear relationship with delivered dose for both samples. The TL sensitivity was found as 277.9 nC mg⁻¹ Gy⁻¹ for the sample with Mg concentration 0.2 mol% and 128.2 nC mg⁻¹ Gy⁻¹ for 0.1 mol% Mg. However, the sample with 0.1 mol% Mg concentration has better fading properties compared to the sample with 0.2 mol% Mg concentration. Both samples show good reproducibility with value less than 13%. The experimental value of effective atomic number, Z_eff is 9.21 and 9.44 for the sample with Mg concentration 0.1% mol and 0.2% mol, respectively, which are near to Z_eff of bone with a value of about 11.6.     

Thermally assisted OSL from deep traps in Al2O3:C

The present work suggests an alternative experimental method in order to not only measure the signal of the deep traps in Al₂O₃:C without heating the sample to temperatures greater than 500 °C, but also use this signal for high dose level dosimetry purposes as well. This method consists of photo transfer OSL measurements performed at elevated temperatures using the blue LEDs (470 nm, FWHM 20 nm) housed at commercial Risø TL/OSL systems, after the sample was previously heated up to 500 °C in order to empty its main TL dosimetric trap. The influence of this procedure on specific features such as glow curve shape and sensitivity of the main TL glow peak was also studied.     

On the pre-dose sensitization of the various components of the LM-OSL signal of annealed quartz; comparison with the case of 110 °C TL peak

Pre-dose sensitization of various components of LM-OSL signal of a Nigerian annealed quartz sample has been investigated along side with that of 110 °C TL peak in this work. Successive cycles of irradiations and TL/OSL readings using different heating rates were employed to attain pre-dose sensitization. The results showed that the pre-dose sensitization factor of 110 °C TL peak depends strongly on the heating rate of thermal activation. The pre-dose sensitization of 110 °C TL and all components of RT LM-OSL yield HR dependence on the sensitization after TA. This dependence was ascribed to the different heating time associated with each HR. Sensitization of LM-OSL measured at 125 °C generally does not show dependence on HR of TA. This was with the exception of components C₁ and C₃. Increasing sensitization pattern with increasing HR suggests a correlation between the TL glow-peak at 110 °C, the component C₄ of RT LM-OSL and the component C₃ of the LM-OSL signal at 125 °C. Extension of the present investigation to diverse quartz kinds from different origins was suggested in order to study the prevalence of the pre-dose sensitization on component C₄ of RT LM-OSL. Finally fast heating is suggested for lower sensitization of fast component while applying OSL dating protocols.     

Infrared luminescence, thermoluminescence and defect centres in Er and Yb co-doped ZnAl2O4 phosphor

Er and Yb co-doped ZnAl₂O₄ phosphors were prepared by solution combustion synthesis and the identification of Er and Yb were done by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) studies. A luminescence at 1.5 μm, due to the ⁴I_13/2 →⁴I_15/2 transition, has been studied in the NIR region in Er and Yb co-doped ZnAl₂O₄ phosphors upon 980 nm CW pumping. Er-doped ZnAl₂O₄ exhibits two thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) peaks around 174°C and 483°C, while Yb co-doped ZnAl₂O₄ exhibits TSL peaks around 170°C and 423°C. Electron spin resonance (ESR) studies were carried out to identify defect centres responsible for TSL peaks observed in the phosphors. Room temperature ESR spectrum appears to be a superposition of two distinct centres. These centres are assigned to an O⁻ ion and F⁺ centre. O⁻ ion appears to correlate with the 174°C TSL peak and F⁺ centre appears to relate with the high temperature TSL peak at 483°C in ZnAl₂O₄:Er phosphor.     

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.     

Mechanoluminescence,thermoluminescence and photoluminescence studies on Al2O3:Tb phosphors

Terbium activated Al₂O₃ phosphors were synthesized by combustion technique using hydrazine as a reductive non-carbonaceous fuel. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the samples were recorded to confirm the formation of the sample. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were taken to study the surface morphology of the sample. The photoluminescence (PL), thermoluminescence (TL) and mechanoluminescence (ML) properties of the γ-ray irradiated samples were studied. ML was excited impulsively by dropping a piston on the sample. In ML glow curves one peak with a shoulder was observed. ML intensity increases with activator concentration. Optimum ML was observed for the sample having 0.5 mol% of Tb ions. In the TL glow curve two distinct peaks, one around 222 °C and another around 280 °C, were observed for the samples having 0.5 mol% of activator concentration. In the PL spectra the ⁵D₄→⁷F₅ line at 544 nm in the green region is observed, which is the strongest in Al₂O₃ system. It is suggested that de-trapping of trapped charge carriers followed by recombination is responsible for ML and TL in this system.     

Thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence characteristics of Al2O3 doped with Tb

In the present work policrystals of α − Al₂O₃ doped with terbium were synthesized using the solvent evaporation method. The samples were prepared using Al(NO₃)₃·9H₂O and Tb(NO₃)₃·5H₂O reagents, with Tb concentrations between 1 and 5 mol% and thermally treated at high temperature above ∼1400 °C. X-ray diffraction measurements showed the α-phase formation of samples. TL glow curve presented an intense peak at ∼190 °C and two other with low intensity at 290 and 350 °C after gamma irradiation. The best doping concentration which presented high luminescence was the sample doped with 3 mol% of Tb. TL spectra and fluorescence measurements showed similar luminescence spectra with lines attribute to Tb³⁺ ions. A linear behavior to gamma dose between 1 and 20 Gy was observed in TL, using 190 °C peak as well as in OSL signal, this last carried out using 532 nm wavelength stimulation.     

Comparison of the properties of various optically stimulated luminescence signals from potassium feldspar

Various optically stimulated luminescence signals from K-feldspar have been used to determine the equivalent doses of sediment samples. Understanding the properties of these optical signals is critical to evaluate their applicability and limitations to optical dating. In this paper, some properties of IRSL, post-IR OSL and post-IR IRSL signals (detected in the UV region using U-340 filters) from a museum sample of K-feldspar were investigated by analyzing the relationships between optical and TL signals, and the effect of optical bleaching and heating on optical signals. The trap parameters of the different optical signals were calculated using the pulse annealing method. The results show that this sample exhibits two regenerated TL peaks at ～140 and ～330 °C. Corresponding to the low temperature TL peak, the OSL and post-IR OSL signals appear to be more associated with lower temperature TL than the IRSL signal measured at 50 °C. Corresponding to the high temperature TL peak, the post-IR IRSL signals mainly originate from the more thermally stable traps associated with the high temperature TL, compared with the IRSL and post-IR OSL signals. However, the post-IR IRSL_225 °C signal is shown to be hard to be bleached by blue light and simulated sunlight, compared with the IRSL_50 °C and low temperature post-IR IRSL signals. The implication for optical dating is that the elevated temperature post-IR IRSL signals can be preferentially applied over other signals from K-feldspar, but it is desirable that the effectiveness of the pre-depositional zeroing of these signals is assessed.     

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermally assisted OSL in Eu2+ – Doped BaSO4 phosphor

BaSO₄:Eu²⁺ phosphor has been investigated for its photoluminescence (PL), thermoluminescence (TL), TL kinetics, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermally assisted OSL (TA-OSL) response. PL spectra showed the characteristic emission of Eu²⁺ ion at 375 nm when excited by 320 nm. The luminescence lifetime has been measured as 40 and 628 μs of fast and slow components respectively. The TL parameters such as trap depth (E), frequency factor (s) and the order of kinetics (b) are determined. The phosphor is found to be 6 and 4 times more sensitive than CaSO₄:Dy and α-Al₂O₃:C, respectively, in TL mode. However, its OSL sensitivity is 75% of α-Al₂O₃:C. It is found to possess three OSL components having photoionization cross-sections of 1.4 × 10⁻¹⁷, 1.2 × 10⁻¹⁸ and 5.2 × 10⁻¹⁹ cm² respectively. The temperature dependence of OSL studies showed that integrated TA-OSL signal increases with stimulation temperature between 50 and 250 °C, while between 260 and 450 °C the signal intensity decreases. This behavior is interpreted to arise from competing effects of thermal assistance (activation energy E_A = 0.063 ± 0.0012 eV) and depletion of trapped charges. This increase of OSL at elevated temperature can be employed for enhancing the sensitivity of phosphor for radiation dosimetry.     

Lu2O3:Tb,Hf storage phosphor

Lu₂O₃:Tb,Hf ceramics containing 0.1% of Tb and 0–1.5% of Hf were prepared in reducing atmosphere at 1700 °C and their thermoluminescence properties were systematically studied. For comparison Tb,Ca co-doped specimen was also fabricated and investigated. The Tb,Hf ceramics shows basically a single TL band located around 180 °C as found with heating rate of 15 °C/min. Ceramics singly doped with Tb show complex TL glow curves indicating the presence of traps of very different depths. On the other hand Tb,Ca co-doping is beneficial for the development of shallow traps with the main TL band around 70 °C. Hence, the aliovalent impurities, Ca²⁺ and Hf⁴⁺, strongly influenced the traps structure in Lu₂O₃:Tb ceramics, each of them in its own specific way. Isothermal decay of Lu₂O₃:Tb,Hf at 185 °C was recorded and its shape suggest that multiple hole trapping occurs in the Lu₂O₃:Tb,Hf ceramics. Due to the different traps depths the Lu₂O₃:Tb,Hf ceramics possess properties typical for storage phosphors, while Lu₂O₃:Tb,Ca is a persistent luminescent material rather.     

Optical depth of traps in AL2O3:C determined by the variable energy of stimulation OSL (VES-OSL) method

Standard methods of OSL measurements (CW-OSL or LM-OSL) do not allow for the direct determination of optical depth of traps. The variable energy of stimulation optically stimulated luminescence (VES-OSL) method gives such possibility. It consists in optical stimulation with the continuous increase of stimulation light energy and is analogous to the glow curve method in TL measurements. The VES-OSL curve shape and maximum position can be regulated by the stimulation photon flux, the rate of stimulation energy increase and by measurement temperature. This allows for detecting the OSL from very deep traps that give the TL signal overlapping with strong incandescence. The VES-OSL measurements carried out for Al₂O₃:C showed that traps having the optical depth between 2.0 and 2.8 eV are responsible for the OSL signal related to TL peak at about 200 °C. The OSL signal from the much deeper traps from the range 2.8–3.3 eV was also detected. The TL signal related do these traps cannot be detected below 500 °C.     

α-Al2O3:C晶体的热释光和光释光特性

以高纯α-Al₂O₃和石墨为原料,采用温梯法生长了α-Al₂O₃：C晶体,使用Ris TL/OSL-DA-15型热释光和光释光仪研究了其热释光和光释光特性.α-Al₂O₃：C晶体在462K附近有单一热释光峰,发射波长位于410nm.随着辐照剂量的增加,热释光强度逐渐增强,462K的热释光特征峰位置保持不变.α-Al₂O₃：C晶体的 关键词： 2O₃：C')" href="#">α-Al₂O₃：C 热释光 光释光     

Analysis of TL and OSL kinetics of lithium aluminate

Lithium aluminate (LiAlO₂) polycrystalline material showing high OSL sensitivity and linear dose response was prepared at IFJ Krakow. The kinetic parameters of OSL and TL processes were evaluated using various experimental techniques: LM-OSL deconvolution, TL glow-curve deconvolution, variable heating rate and isothermal decay. The OSL signal was found to consist of four components, one of them exhibiting a very slow decay. The TL glow-curve possesses two apparent peaks at approximately 85 °C and at 165 °C, which both seem to follow first order kinetics. These peaks seem to have a composite structure and as many as six peaks were found in the glow-curve.     

Thermoluminescence,photoluminescence and EPR studies on Mn2+ activated yttrium aluminate (YAlO3) perovskite

Thermoluminescence (TL) measurements were carried out on undoped and Mn²⁺ doped (0.1 mol%) yttrium aluminate (YAlO₃) nanopowders using gamma irradiation in the dose range 1–5 kGy. These phosphors have been prepared at furnace temperatures as low as 400 °C by using the combustion route. Powder X-ray diffraction confirms the orthorhombic phase. SEM micrographs show that the powders are spherical in shape, porous with fused state and the size of the particles appeared to be in the range 50–150 nm. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) studies reveal that Mn ions occupy the yttrium site and the valency of manganese remains as Mn²⁺. The photoluminescence spectrum shows a typical orange-to-red emission at 595 nm and suggests that Mn²⁺ ions are in strong crystalline environment. It is observed that TL intensity increases with gamma dose in both undoped and Mn doped samples. Four shouldered TL peaks at 126, 240, 288 and 350 °C along with relatively resolved glow peak at 180 °C were observed in undoped sample. However, the Mn doped samples show a shouldered peak at 115 °C along with two well defined peaks at ～215 and 275 °C. It is observed that TL glow peaks were shifted in Mn doped samples. The kinetic parameters namely activation energy (E), order of kinetics (b), frequency factor (s) of undoped, and Mn doped samples were determined at different gamma doses using the Chens glow peak shape method and the results are discussed in detail.     

Synthesis and thermoluminescence characterization of MgB4O7:Gd,Li

Magnesium tetraborate (MTB) doped with rare earth elements were synthesized by solid state sintering technique. Among the different rare earth dopants studied in this phosphor, gadolinium doped phosphors resulted in a single intense dosimetric peak at 250 °C and this is the first report in rare earth-doped MgB₄O₇ with a glow peak above 200 °C Photoluminescence (PL) and thermoluminescence (TL) studies were performed with this phosphor after exposing the powder samples to ionizing radiation. Monovalent dopants, including Na, Li and Ag, were found to increase the TL sensitivity of the MgB₄O₇:Gd phosphor without a shift in the TL peak temperature. The TL emission spectra showed characteristic emission of the host lattice, which showed an increase on doping with rare earth or monovalent codopants. The TL sensitivity, dose response curve, and post-irradiation storage stability were studied for the possible use of this material in radiation dosimetry applications. The TL parameters, such as the activation energy, the frequency factor, and the order of kinetics were determined for the Gd-doped MgB₄O₇ phosphor. The phosphor was found to be reusable after a few cycles of irradiation and annealing. The post-irradiation storage stability studies showed that this near tissue-equivalent phosphor, which has a gamma sensitivity five times that of TLD-100, is suitable for medical dosimetry applications.     

Thermoluminescence studies of thermally treated CaB4O7:Dy

Borate based thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD) show high sensitivity and good TL characteristics. One of the promising material amongst the dosimeters is Dy doped CaB₄O₇. Spectrally resolved thermoluminescence of Dy doped CaB₄O₇ shows three glow peaks at about 50 °C, 240 °C and 380 °C, the intensity of the 240 °C glow peak being the maximum. All TL experiments were conducted on a high sensitivity TL spectrometer at Sussex University with a heating rate of 50 °C min^?1. Two main emissions associated with the Dy dopant are observed at ～480 and 580 nm. The samples were subjected to a series of treatments including excitation by X-rays and UV laser radiation. As part of the present research CaB₄O₇:Dy materials were subjected to two different heat treatments; quenching and slow cooling in order to investigate the changes in TL characteristics.     

Synthesis and investigation of the luminescent properties of carbon doped lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3) for application in radiation dosimetry

LaAlO₃ single crystals grown under hydrothermal conditions and co-doped with Ce and Dy atoms have been recently reported to show high thermoluminescent (TL) outputs for ultraviolet (UV) radiation fields (Oliveira et al., 2011). Due to this property, they have been considered for further investigation for applications in UV dosimetry. Encouraged by these results, we start an investigation about the TL properties of polycrystalline LaAlO₃ grown by an alternative method. In this method, equimolar amounts of Al₂O₃ and La₂O₃ are sintered, producing polycrystalline LaAlO₃ powder. Polycrystals doped with amounts of carbon ranging from 0.0 to 5.0 at.% were synthesized by sintering under hydrogen reducing atmosphere. After irradiation with a UV commercial lamp, the best TL outputs were observed for the undoped sample. The recorded TL glow curves show a main TL peak centered at 175 °C. The TL emission spectrum show a broad emission peak centered at 634 nm and another three narrow peaks centered at 724 nm, 738 nm and 754 nm, respectively. The undoped material show a huge TL output response for UV spectral irradiances ranging from 0.04 to 1.68 mJ cm⁻² that can be fitted by a 2nd order polynomial regression. The investigation demonstrates that undoped polycrystalline LaAlO₃ crystals sintered under reducing atmosphere are very attractive to be investigated as high sensitivity ultraviolet TL dosimeters.     

The TL and room temperature OSL properties of the glow peak at 110 °C in natural milky quartz: A case study

The LM–OSL signal of quartz, while measured at room temperature, is dominated by an intermediate, broad and intense OSL component, so that its contribution and general characteristics are derived very accurately. Through a series of dose–response, bleaching and thermal decay at room temperature experiments, in conjunction with curve fitting studies, a component resolved analysis is carried out studying the correlation between this specific component, termed as LM–OSL component C₂ and the 110 °C TL glow peak in quartz. The dose–response of these two luminescence components behaves exactly similar being linear at low doses and saturating at almost 100 Gy. Both signals decay exponentially under illumination, providing identical optical detrapping cross-section values. Residual of both luminescence signals after thermal decay at room temperature follows an exponential law, yielding similar mean half-lives. All previous luminescence features provide strong evidence for the electron trap being the same for both the 110 °C TL trap and the LM–OSL component C₂. The results of the present work are very promising and clearly support the possibility of extrapolating the TL pre-dose methodology to the OSL pre-dose effect using only the LM–OSL component C₂.