Optical-luminescence properties, including absorption spectra, photoluminescence
excitation spectra, and changes in photoluminescence spectra after
irradiation with γ-rays in the dose range of
1–3 Gy, were measured for novel LiB3O5:Ag dosimeter glass. A clear dependence
of the intensity of the photoluminescence (PL), with a maximum of
approximately 300 nm, on the dose value when excited by light
with λexc=220nm was observed. The mechanism of PL in γ-irradiated LiB3O5:Ag glass is proposed to be a consequence
of radiation annihilation with the emission of relaxed exciton-like
electronic excitations with the participation of impurity defects (Ag0) in the glass structure. Considering
that LiB3O5 has an effective atomic number of Zeff=7.39, which is the closest to Zeff=7.42 of human body tissue, LiB3O5:Ag glass can be very promising for γ-dosimetry in medical practice during
radiation therapy of patients with cancer. The presence of lithium
Li(6) and boron B(10) isotopes increases the sensitivity of LiB3O5:Ag glass to neutrons, which is promising
for the manufacture of individual neutron dosimeters for applications
in a new field of radiation therapy–neutron therapy.