Study of thermally and optically stimulated luminescence in LiF:Mg,Ti following neutron and beta irradiation

Abstract

The results reported herein were motivated by the potential application of combined optically stimulated (OSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) measurements for separation between the beta and neutron dose components in mixed neutron-beta radiation fields. The advantages of OSL/TL are two-fold: (i) The OSL and TL readout can be carried out on the same sample and (ii) the greater efficiency of OSL to high ionization density (HID) radiation due to the excitation of F2 and F3 + centers. The beta calibration coefficients for LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-700) were measured using a 90Sr/90Y source calibrated at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center nuclear facility. The estimation of the neutron calibration coefficients was carried out by irradiation with broad beam fast neutrons of median energy 5 MeV and a quasi-monoenergetic neutron field of mean energy 14.8 MeV at the Physikalisch Technische Bundenanstalt. The preferential excitation of OSL following HID irradiation has been demonstrated.