Thermoluminescence of alkali halides and its implications

Trapping levels present in some alkali halides namely NaCl, KCl, KBr, and KI are determined by deconvolution of the thermoluminescence (TL) curves. Unlike most of the studies undertaken over the last few decades, we have presented a comprehensive picture of the phenomenon of TL as an analytical technique capable of revealing the position of the trapping levels present in the materials. We show that for all practical purposes, TL can be described involving only the three key trapping parameters, namely, the activation energy (E), the frequency factor (s), and the order of kinetics (b) even for complex glow curves having a number of TL peaks. Finally, based on these, we logically infer the importance of TL in development and characterization of materials used in dosimetry, dating and scintillation.