Modulation of the thermoluminescence glow curve of sol-gel synthesized SiO₂ and Si O-2:Eu through thermal annealing

Full text: Due to the increasing use of ionizing radiations, is necessary to monitor the radiation fields and exposure doses in facilities in which they are used. Different facilities or applications involve the use of different radiation and doses, and the sort of needed dosimetry also varies. Sometimes a conventional thermoluminescence (Tl) dosimetry satisfy the requirements since the record of the accumulated dose in a time interval is enough, but other cases could require for real-time measurement of a radiation field, being required a non-Tl dosimetric technique. On the other hand, different applications involve the use of different dose ranges, and so dosimeters with different sensitivities are needed. To solve the diverse needs of radiation detectors and dosimeters, a lot of phosphors materials has been characterized concerning their dosimetric capabilities. For medical application, biocompatible materials are desirable. In this work, we present experimental evidence that Sol-Gel synthesized SiO₂ and SiO₂:Eu phosphors exhibit Tl glow curves composed by the superposition of several individual glow peaks each located at different temperature ranging from values below 100 up to temperatures greater than 400 degrees C, whose relative sensitivities can be modified by subjecting the phosphors to different thermal annealing. By modulating the relative intensities of the individual Tl peaks, glow curves with different shapes are obtained in such a way that SiO₂ and SiO₂:Eu can be used to develop dosimeters useful for different dose ranges, and for both, conventional thermoluminescence dosimetry and non-thermoluminescence afterglow-based) dosimetry. (Author)