Preparation and Characteristics of LiF:Mg,Cu,P Thermoluminescent Material

Abstract

Abstract The preparation and characteristics of LiF:Mg,Cu,P TL material are described and recent improvements are also dealt with. The reproducibility, glow curve structure and other properties of LiF:Mg,Cu,P are dependent not only on the dopant concentration and crystallisation procedure but also on the thermal treatment programme, i.e. the temperature and the time of annealing. Usually the sensitivity (light integration) of LiF:Mg,Cu,P is influenced by the high temperature peak (250 oC). The combined annealing method (270 oC/240 oC double temperatures) can significantly reduce the higher temperature peak and therefore the TL repeatability is improved. Once the optimised preparation procedure and thermal treatment are chosen, the TL sensitivity is stable with re-use. The experimental results show that LiF:Mg,Cu,P has a promising potential in routine applications, (e.g. personal and environmental monitoring for gamma radiation) especially for ultra-low dose monitoring.