Normal and anomalous heating rate effects on thermoluminescence of Ce-doped ZnB2O4.

The effect of heating rate (HR) on thermoluminescence (TL) glow curves of 1%, 4%, and 10% Ce3 + doped ZnB2O4 phosphors was investigated in detail. The glow peaks are examined and, activation energy (E) and frequency factor (s) are determined by using various heating rate (VHR) method. In the obtained glow curves with nine different HRs between 2 and 10°C/s, it was observed that the TL intensities of the first peaks of all three samples and the second peak of 10% Ce3 + doped sample decrease with increasing HR. The decrease in TL intensity was investigated whether it may be due to the presence of thermal quenching or not. On the other hand, the second glow peaks of 1, 4% Ce3 + doped ZnB2O4 phosphors show an anomalous TL behavior, which the probability of the radiative processes increases due to recombination of free electrons, so the TL intensity increases with the HR. The graphs of full width at the half maximum (FWHM) versus HR were also plotted to evaluate the influence of HR on TL intensity. In this paper, we suggest that the non-localized Schön - Klasens model may give an explanation for the second peaks of 1, 4% Ce3 + doped ZnB2O4 phosphors showing an unexpected increase with the increasing HR. In addition, the calculated E values of all doped phosphors were found similar in the range of 0.47-0.53eV for peak 1 and 0.61-0.66eV for peak 2. However, s values of Ce3 + doped ZnB2O4 phosphors were found slightly different according to the dopant amount and the equation used. Furthermore, different amount of Ce3 + doped samples indicate the similar properties for the repeated cycles of 5Gy in the same irradiation conditions.

Thermoluminescence characteristics of Zn(BO2)2:Ce3+ under beta irradiation.

In this study, the thermoluminescence (TL) characteristics of undoped and various Ce(3) (+)-doped Zn(BO2)2 powder samples excited by beta irradiation are reported for the first time. Zn(BO2)2:Ce(3+) powder samples were prepared by the nitric acid method (NAM) using the starting oxides [zinc oxide (ZnO), boric acid (H3BO3) and doped element oxide (CeO2)]. The formations of the obtained samples were confirmed by an X-ray diffraction study. Dose responses of Ce(3) (+)-doped Zn(BO2)2 samples were investigated after the beta irradiation in the dose range from 143 mGy to 60 Gy. All TL measurements were made on using an automated Risø TL/OSL DA-20 reader. TL emission was detected through a filter pack (Schott BG-39 and Corning 7-59) transmitting between 330 and 480 nm. TL glow curves were obtained using a constant heating rate of 5°C s(-1) from room temperature (RT) to 450°C in an N2 atmosphere. The dose response and minimum detectable dose (MDD) values of the samples were determined. The dose responses of all the samples tested exhibited a superlinear behaviour. MDD value of 4 % Ce(3) (+)-doped Zn(BO2)2 sample, which shows a high temperature peak at about 230°C, was determined as 96 mGy. MDD values for 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 % Ce(3) (+)-doped Zn(BO2)2 samples were also determined as 682, 501, 635, 320 and 824 mGy, respectively. The trap parameters of undoped and 4 % Ce(3) (+)-doped Zn(BO2)2 samples were estimated by the computerised glow curve deconvolution method.

Thermoluminescence kinetic parameters of different amount La-doped ZnB2O4.

The kinetic parameters of 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% La-doped ZnB2O4 phosphors (i.e. ZnB2O4:0.01La, ZnB2O4:0.02La, ZnB2O4:0.03La and ZnB2O4:0.04La) synthesized by nitric acid method have been calculated. Thermoluminescence (TL) glow curves of ZnB2O4:La phosphors after beta-irradiation showed a very well defined main peak having the maximum temperature at around 200°C and a shoulder peak at around 315°C with a constant heating rate of 5°C/s. The kinetic parameters of ZnB2O4:La phosphors TL glow peaks (i.e. order of kinetics (b), activation energies (Ea) and frequency factors (s)) have been determined and evaluated by Computerized Glow Curve Deconvolution (CGCD), and Peak Shape (PS) methods using the glow curve data. From the results, it can conclude that the values of Ea obtained with these methods for ZnB2O4:La phosphors are consistent with each other, but the s values differ considerably.

Mass attenuation coefficients, effective atomic numbers and effective electron densities for some polymers.

In this study, the total mass attenuation coefficients (µ(m)) for some homo- and hetero-chain polymers, namely polyamide-6 (PA-6), poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) were measured at 59.5, 511, 661.6, 1173.2, 1274.5 and 1332.5 keV photon energies. The samples were separately irradiated with (241)Am, (22)Na, (137)Cs and (60)Co (638 kBq) radioactive gamma sources. The measurements were made by performing transmission experiments with a 2″×2″ NaI(Tl) scintillation detector having an energy resolution of 7 % at 662 keV gamma ray from the decay of (137)Cs. The effective atomic numbers (Z(eff)) and the effective electron densities (N(eff)) were determined experimentally and theoretically using the obtained µ(m) values for the investigated samples. Furthermore, Z(eff) and N(eff) of each polymer were computed for total photon interaction cross-sections using theoretical data over a wide energy region from 1 keV to 10 MeV. The experimental values of the selected polymers were found to be in good agreement with the theoretical values.

Determining photon energy absorption parameters for different soil samples.

The mass attenuation coefficients (µs) for five different soil samples were measured at 661.6, 1173.2 and 1332.5 keV photon energies. The soil samples were separately irradiated with (137)Cs and (60)Co (370 kBq) radioactive point gamma sources. The measurements were made by performing transmission experiments with a 2″ × 2″ NaI(Tl) scintillation detector, which had an energy resolution of 7% at 0.662 MeV for the gamma-rays from the decay of (137)Cs. The effective atomic numbers (Zeff) and the effective electron densities (Neff) were determined experimentally and theoretically using the obtained µs values for the soil samples. Furthermore, the Zeff and Neff values of the soil samples were computed for the total photon interaction cross-sections using theoretical data over a wide energy region ranging from 1 keV to 15 MeV. The experimental values of the soils were found to be in good agreement with the theoretical values. Sandy loam and sandy clay loam soils demonstrated poor photon energy absorption characteristics. However, clay loam and clay soils had good photon energy absorption characteristics.