Thermoluminescence spectra of Tm doped ZnB₂O₄ phosphor prepared via a wet-chemical synthesis

Highlights: • ZnB₂O₄:Tm³⁺ phosphors were successfully prepared by a wet chemical method. • The TL glow curves of the samples were analysed. • The trap parameters were calculated by IR method combined with $T_m-T_{stop}$ - Abstract: In this paper we describe the thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics of 0.8 mol% Tm³⁺ doped ZnB₂O₄phosphors prepared by a wet-chemical method. The TL glow curves of the phosphor sample consisted of three peaks located at 181 °C, 213 °C and 351 °C. The glow peak TL temperature $\left(T_m\right)$ at which the TL glow peak occurs shifts toward the higher temperature side whilst the heating ramp rate increases and also the peak TL intensity $\left(I_m\right)$ decreases. The TL glow curves are characterized by evaluating various dosimetric characteristics of scrutinized samples. The $T_m-T_{stop}$investigations on regenerated TL signals revealed that there are five different traps in the phosphor with energy values in the range of 0.61–1.71 eV. The dose responses increased in a linear way for 3 peaks with the beta-ray exposure in the dose range of 0.11–60 Gy. The process of applying 10 Gy dose was repeated for ten successive irradiation cycles to check reproducibility and the maximum variation was found to be less than 1% from the average value. These results provide valuable knowledge for use of the characteristics of T_m doped ZnB₂O₄ in dosimetry research.