Optically stimulated luminescence in KMgF/sub 3/:Ce/sup 3+/ comparison of dosimetric characteristics with Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/:C

Abstract

Ce 3+ doped KMgF 3 crystals have been investigated as a new material for dosimetry of ionizing radiation. Previous studies have focused on their thermoluminescence (TL) properties. This paper shows that the stored energy in this compound can also be read by visible light. Its sensitivity was found to be one order of magnitude greater than Al 2 O 3 : C, which can be considered as the standard dosimetric material based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The greater sensitivity was due to a larger wavelength difference between stimulation and emission wavelengths, which results in a better separation of useful signal from scattered light. Time response characteristics were also significantly better than Al 2 O 3 : C, which allows in principle fast pulsed and multiple readouts. Unfortunately, the high self-dose ( 1.5 Gy/h) due to the natural abundance of 40 K isotope is a major drawback for the application of this material in environmental dosimetry. Some features of the mechanism have been studied with different spectroscopic techniques. The luminescent centers have been clearly identified with Ce 3+ ions. It has been shown that the main trapping centers involved in OSL mechanism are the same as those involved in TL mechanism.Index Terms-Al 2 O 3 , KMgF 3 : Ce, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL).

Internal Radiation Levels in Natural Quartz Crystals Collected from Southwestern Nigeria; Implications on Thermoluminescence Studies

“…As illustrated in Table 2, S4, S2 and S10 are with dose rates 7.19, 0.33 and 0.09 nGy/h respectively. These dose rates are far less as compared with the ~1.5 mGy/h observed in KMgF 3 by [24,52]. They reported the high self-dose owing to the presence of the natural isotope 40 K in their samples.…”

On energy storage of Lu2O3:Tb,M (M=Hf, Ti, Nb) sintered ceramics: Glow curves, dose-response dependence, radiation hardness and self-dose effect

“…Pashchenko et al trying to determine fading effect of TL in KCl:Eu 2+ crystals found that self-dose due to radioactive 40 K needs to be considered [36] [37]. The same radionuclide contributes to high self-dose (~1.5 μGy/h) in KMgF3:Ce, an ultrasensitive OSL material whose low dose detection limit was found to be one order of magnitude greater than Al2O3 [38] [39]. The self-irradiation occurs obviously for entire series of Lu2O3:Tb,M samples, but quantitative results we present for (Tb,Hf)-doped material.…”

Luminescence of Eu2+ in some fluorides prepared by reactive atmosphere processing

“…It has been studied more frequently with 3d activators [13]. It has also been studied as UV scintillator and radiation dosimetry phosphor [14][15][16]. KMgF 3 :Eu 2+ has also been studied earlier [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”