Characterization of silicates and calcium carbonates applied to high-dose dosimetry

The predominant isomorphous form in the biominerals studied in this work (oyster shell, coral, mother of pearl and shell) was aragonite. The appearance of the calcite phase occurred at 500 deg C at a heating rate of 10 deg C/s for all samples except for the coral sample, which was 400 deg C, independent of the heating rate. The most abundant element in the biominerals samples was Ca in the CaO form, and in the silicates (tremolite, diopside and rhodonite) Si in the SiO form. The most common trace element observed in the biominerals samples was Fe. The analyses of electron paramagnetic resonance showed lines of Mn2+ in the coral and mother-of-pearl samples before irradiation. In the case of the irradiated samples, the defects found were CO2-, CO33-, CO3- and SO2-, in the g range between 2.0010 and 2.0062. In the analyses by optical absorption of biominerals, transitions due to the presence of Mn in the samples were found. A thermoluminescent (TL) peak at approximately 140 deg C was found for the biominerals and at 180 deg C for silicates, which intensity depends directly on the dose. For samples exposed to different types of radiation, the TL peak occurred at lower temperatures. From the dose-response curves obtained for these materials, it was possible to determine a linear range for which their application in high dose dosimetry becomes possible. Taking into account the radiation type, among biominerals and silicates, the lowest detectable dose (40mGy) to gamma radiation was achieved for oyster shell samples using the measuring technique of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). Using beta radiation, for diopside and tremolite samples the lowest detectable dose of 60mGy was obtained. For all samples, using the TL, OSL and thermally stimulated exoelectron emission (TSEE) techniques in alpha, beta and gamma radiation beans a good response reproducibility was obtained. Therefore, the samples characterized in this work are suitable to be used as high dose detectors/dosimeters. (author)