Performance of different thermoluminescence dosemeters in 90Sr+90Y radiation fields

The dosimetry of beta radiation is a difficult process especially because of the low penetration of beta particles in matter. The dosemeter utilised for this kind of procedure needs to approximate an ideal point-like detector: it should be as thin as possible, and its area should be small. The thermoluminescence dosemeters (TLDs) meet with these requirement properties. The aim of this work was to study the dosimetric characteristics of different TLDs to verify the possibility of their use for the calibration of 90Sr+90Y plane applicators. The response reproducibility, calibration curves, TL response as a function of the source-detector distance, the transmission factors and the linearity of the sample response were obtained for several types of dosimetric pellets. (authors)