Luminescence studies of rare earth doped dosimeters

The main objective of this thesis has been to address the applications and fundamentals of thermoluminescence (TL) and to contribute to existing knowledge about TL mechanisms in materials which are applied as radiation dosimeters. This issue has been explored for a long time but the mechanisms lack completeness and certainty. TL, Radioluminescence (RL) and Radio-thermoluminescence (RLTL) measurements have been conducted on a high sensitivity TL spectrometer both at low (30-290 K) and high (25-400 deg. C) temperatures, and different heat treatments (furnace and laser) were conducted in order to study the possible impurity clustering which changes the TL spectra and efficiency of the dosimeters. Studies have been based on three different host structure, namely sulphate, borates and zircon. The spectra of calcium sulphate samples doped with Tm3+ and Dy3+ at different concentration were examined using TL, RL and RLTL. Similar procedures were applied to the borate samples. Modifications of the material by thermal treatments convert the state of dispersion of the rare earth ions between isolated, pair or defect clusters, which alter the dosimeter efficiency. In some cases, modified geometries are detectable by movement of the line emissions such as for quenched samples which are attributable to new microcrystal line phases. The study of co-doped samples showed unequivocal evidence of a glow peak displacement of the two dopants within a single sample. This result supports the new view that RE3+ ions could form part of a complex defect acting as both charge trap and recombination centres. Pulsed laser heating with a UV laser changed the glow curve shape and lead to strong signals. The detailed mechanisms for this process are discussed. The RL and TL spectra of synthetic zircon crystals doped with different RE3+ ions (Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Ho, Dy, Er, and Yb) and phosphorus are reported. Even though there is some intrinsic emission from the host lattice the major signals are from the rare earth sites, with signals characteristic of the RE3+ states. Once more, the data suggest that the rare earth ions are active both in the trapping and luminescence processes where ionic radii influence the TL peak temperature. Finally, the research has expanded to include the analysis of high resolution RL spectra of CaSO4 and MgB4O7 doped with different concentrations of rare earths. This thesis presents the preliminary results and reveals that in higher concentrations, RE ions form a cluster which reduce the luminescence emission. (author)