Thermally and optically stimulated luminescence properties of BeO dosimeter with double TL peak in the main dosimetric region

• Published in: Applied radiation and isotopes 2021-04, Vol.170, p.109635, Article 109635
• Main Authors: Aşlar, Engin, Şahiner, Eren, Polymeris, Georgios S., Meriç, Niyazi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beryllium oxide (BeO); Characterization; Deconvolution; Fractional glow technique; Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL); Thermoluminescence (TL)
• ISSN: 0969-8043; 1872-9800
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109635

Beryllium oxide (BeO), which has a widely known single main TL peak over the main dosimetric region, is an important luminescent material widely used in personal, medical, and environmental dosimetry fields. The thermal and optically stimulated luminescence properties (TL and OSL) of the BeO dosimeter, supplied by a private company in Turkey (BeOR) that yields a double peak in the main dosimetric region (100–300 °C; heating rate = 2 °C/s) were studied. The corresponding properties were compared to the commercially prevalent Thermalox 995 BeO (BeOT). Multiple characterization techniques including x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscope (SEM) image and electron spin resonance (ESR) were used to detect possible differences in TL and OSL signals. It was hypothesized that the calcination and or sintering process applied during the manufacturing process might lead to a double peak in the main dosimetric region of BeOR TL signals. Moreover, dosimetric properties of this dosimeter such as reproducibility, dose-response, minimum detectable dose (MDD), thermal quenching, bleaching, and thermal stability in combination with annealing properties were comprehensively investigated. An analysis of the results shows that BeOR has lower detection limits in TL than BeOT. In contrast, BeOT exhibited lower detection limits in the OSL signal than BeOR. Although both dosimeters have dissimilarities in several aspects, both are appropriate for dosimetric research on health physics applications. Therefore, selecting the appropriate BeO dosimeter could be an important factor to consider when assessing accurate doses in studies. With this outline in mind and by investigating using different characterization methods, the available luminescence knowledge base of BeO dosimeters was expanded. •Possible differences on TL and OSL signals were investigated for the two type of BeO dosimeters.•Dosimetric behaviours and kinetic parameters of BeO dosimeter were studied.•Multiple characterization techniques were applied to BeO dosimeters.