Optically stimulated luminescence of electronic components for forensic, retrospective, and accident dosimetry

This study investigated the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) response of electronic components found within portable electronic devices such as cell phones and pagers, portable computers, music and video players, global positioning system receivers, cameras, and digital watches. The analysis of components extracted from these ubiquitous devices was proposed for applications ranging from rapid accident dose reconstruction to the tracking and attribution of gamma-emitting radiological materials. Surface-mount resistors with alumina porcelain substrates consistently produced OSL following irradiation, with minimum detectable doses on the order of 10 mGy for a typical sample. Since the resistor ceramics were found to exhibit anomalous fading, dose reconstruction procedures were developed to correct for this using laboratory measurements of fading rates carried out over approximately 3 months. Two trials were conducted in which cellular phones were affixed to an anthropomorphic phantom and irradiated using gamma-ray sources; ultimately, analysis of the devices used in these trials succeeded in reconstructing doses in the range of 0.1-0.6Gy