A generalised expression for the determination of activation energy of a thermoluminescence peak

A new set of expressions has been derived for the determination of the activation energy E of a thermoluminescence (TL) peak. Unlike those previously existing in the literature, the present expressions take into account the variation of the symmetry factor μg(x) with um=(E/kTm) where x is the fractional intensity, k the Boltzmann constant and Tm the peak temperature and prior knowledge of the order of kinetics b is not required. The applicability of the present expressions have been tested using both numerically generated and experimental thermoluminescence peaks. (author)