LiF:Mg,Cu,Si material with intense high-temperature TL peak prepared by various thermal treatment conditions

The LiF:Mg,Cu,Si thermoluminescence materials, recently developed at the laboratory, gain uprising popularity because the materials show several outstanding performance results such as high sensitivities for gamma radiation, flat energy responses with little fluctuation for photons, linear responses over the wide ranges of radiation doses and few residual electrons trapped in the holes. In this study, we investigated the impacts of the Mg concentration and the final thermal treatment conditions on the glow curve structure of LiF:Mg,Cu,Si material to enhance the ratio of high-temperature peak to main peak for the extended application of the two peaks in the high LET radiation dosimetry and in the high-temperature environment. Change in Mg concentration did not affect significantly the ratio of fir, responses of high and main dosimetric glow peaks. With Mg concentration in the range from 0.35 to 0.45 mol% and a thermal treatment of 10 min in the range from 400 degrees C to 440 degrees C followed by the thermal treatment at 260 degrees C for 10 min (dual-step thermal treatment) resulted in the highest value of the ratio of TL response of high and main dosimetric glow peaks. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.