Thermally assisted OSL (TA-OSL) reproducibility in Al₂O₃:C and its implication on the corresponding thermoluminescence (TL) reproducibility

Thermally assisted optically stimulated luminescence (TA-OSL) method is an excellent advancement of high-dose luminescent dosimetry with involvement of very deep traps. This specific method has been reported to be very efficient for the cases of anion deficient alumina doped with carbon and quartz. Nevertheless, reproducibility and sensitivity changes have been previously studied only for the case of quartz. In the present study, reproducibility was studied in both terms of quantitative and qualitative features, such as signal intensity and glow curve shape respectively, for both TL and TA-OSL signals on various TLD 500 dosimeters. Finally, for the case of the TL signal, sensitivity changes were studied with and without applying TA-OSL, towards studying the impact of the TA-OSL on the main dosimetric TL signal. - Highlights: • TLD 500 chips yield TL sensitivity changes after long-term use without change in the TL glow curve shape. • Sensitivity changes could be attributed to the occupancy of VDT. • After TA-OSL, the maximum sensitization monitored after 5 cycles of dosing and measurements is decreased. • TA-OSL signal of TLD 500 dosimeters yields negligible sensitization. • TA-OSL is highly suggested for the case of TLD 500 chips after long-term use.