Energy transfer to some TLD materials by neutrons; comparison of theoretical and experimental data

Calculation of kerma for monoenergetic neutrons of energies between 0.01 and 18 MeV have been carried out for several commonly used thermoluminescent materials; i.e. 6LiF, sup(nat)LiF, 7LiF, BeO, Al2O3, and CaSO4; we calculated separately the partial kermas for different secondary charged particles as well as the total kerma. The values of total kerma were compared with the kerma in tissue; one can state that kerma in TLD materials is generally much lower. The total kerma and partial kermas were also calculated for the neutrons emitted by the sources 252Cf and Pu-Be, the thermoluminescent materials studied were sup(nat)LiF, 7LiF, Al2O3 and CaSO4. The values obtained were compared with our recent experimental data. The comparison showed that the thermoluminescent yield after the fast neutron energy absorption is generally lower than after the energy absorption from gamma rays; one can observe however an interesting difference between the materials studied. The Al2O3 thermoluminescent yield is particularly important for 14.7 MeV neutrons. (Auth.)