Microdosimetric modeling of radiation-induced luminescence

Luminescent detectors are commonly used for dose measurements in space and hadron therapy facilities. Therefore, it is of fundamental importance to completely characterize the efficiency of these detectors for measuring a wide range of particles and energies. The experimental efficiency determination through irradiations in particle accelerators is time consuming and very expensive. Furthermore, due to technical limitations it is often not possible to irradiate the detectors with energies above 1 GeV/u or with less common isotopes. In addition, the efficiency determination at low energies is biased with associated large uncertainties in range, LET and dose. Therefore, this talk deals with the development and validation of the Microdosimetric d(z) Model able to describe and predict the efficiency of luminescent detectors for measuring different radiation qualities. Firstly, the theoretical background, the assumptions behind the model and its methodology are reviewed in detail. Afterwards, the results of the model are benchmarked through a comparison with experimentally determined efficiency values. Finally, some immediate applications of the model are shortly presented. (author)