Thermoluminescence of Ge- and Al-doped SiO2 optical fibers subjected to 0.2-4.0 Gy external photon radiotherapeutic dose

In this work, we studied the thermoluminescence response of Ge- and Al-doped optical fibers, its linearity, energy dependence, and sensitivity. The Ge-doped optical fibers demonstrate useful TL properties and represent an excellent candidate for use in TL dosimetry of ionizing radiation. The TL response increases monotonically over a wide photon dose range, from 0.2 Gy to 4.0 Gy. The TL results for these fibers have been compared with similar TL data for phosphor TLD-100. Commercially available Al- and Ge-doped optical fibers have both been found to yield a linear dose-TL signal relationship, although the Al-doped fiber provides only 5 % of the sensitivity of the Ge-doped fibers. The TL characteristics of Ge-doped optical fiber, plus its small size (125 μm diameter), high flexibility, ease of handling, and low cost compared with other TL materials, make this commercial optical fiber a very promising TL material for use in medicine, industry, reactor operation, and a variety of other areas. (author)