The analysis of thermoluminescence glow peaks of unannealed synthetic quartz

Abstract

The additive dose, Tm(Ea)–Tstop, repeated initial rise, variable heating rate and computerized glow curve deconvolution (CGCD) methods were used to determine the number of peaks and kinetic parameters (kinetic orders b, activation energy Ea and attempt-to-escape frequency s) associated with the thermoluminescence (TL) glow peaks in unannealed acid purified synthetic quartz produced by the Fluka Company after beta-irradiation between the dose level 0.02 Gy and 2.5 kGy. The Ea–Tstop and CGCD methods indicated that the glow curve of this material is the superposition of at least seven first-order components, which was referred to as P1–P7, in the temperature range between room temperature and 500°C. The results indicated that kinetic parameters vary fairly from method to method. The dose responses and fading process, which are very useful in radiation dosimetry and archaeological dating, of individual TL peaks of this material were also examined. The dose responses of all peaks have similar pattern, first they follow strong linearity and then saturate at different dose levels. Peaks 1 and 2 completely disappeared after 1 month storage in the dark room at room temperature. On the other hand, the intensity of peak 3 was reduced to 27% of its original value whereas the other peaks (P4–P7) were not sufficiently affected during this period.