Visualization of high radiation field by radiophotoluminescence photography

We have proposed a simple technique for the visualization of high radiation fields by radiophotoluminescence (RPL) photography. Pulverized RPL glass particles were encapsulated into hundreds of polystyrene balls of accumulation-type RPL detectors. The RPL detectors were placed near an intense gamma-ray source. After irradiation, the RPL detectors were uniformly brightened with a UV illuminator. Orange RPL could be observed by the naked eye at doses above 5 Gy. For a dose above 0.5 Gy, a clear RPL photograph was taken with a digital camera. The spatial dose distribution was obtained through digital image processing of the RPL photograph. Therefore, this simple RPL photographing technique using RPL detectors is useful for detecting high levels of radioactivity. - Highlights: • A formation model of radiophotoluminescence (RPL) centers has been proposed. • The activation energies of the formation of RPL centers were determined. • We developed a simple and radiation-proof RPL photographing technique. • The RPL photography is useful for the visualization of high radiation fields