Neutron-induced thermoluminescence of Dy3+-doped Li2O-Al2O3-B2O3 glasses

In this study, we fabricated Dy3+-doped Li2O-Al2O3-B2O3 glasses using Li-6 or Li-n and B-10 or B-11 (Li-6-B-10, Li-6-B-11, Li-n-B-10, and Li-n-B-11 glasses) to develop a new thermoluminescent material for neutron detection, and their thermoluminescence (TL) properties were investigated after X-ray and thermal neutron irradiation. TL glow peaks were observed at 370 K after X-ray irradiation, and the integral values of TL intensities from 350 to 390 K for Li-6-B-10, Li-6-B-11, Li-n-B-10, and Li-n-B-11 glasses were similar, indicating that these glasses have similar sensitivities to X-rays. A TL glow peak was observed at 400 K after neutron irradiation, and the integral values of TL intensities from 380 to 420 K for Li-6-B-10, Li-6-B-11, and Li-n-B-10 glasses were higher than those of the Li-n-B-11 glass, indicating that gamma-rays and high-energy particles generated in the Li-6(n, alpha)H-3 and B-10(n, alpha)Li-7 reactions efficiently induced TL. The TL intensity of the Li-6-B-11 glass was significantly higher than those of the other glasses and showed good linearity against the thermal neutron fluence in the range of 5 x 10(7)-10(11) neutrons cm(.)(-2)