The use of TL and OSL emissions of 3Al2O3–2SiO2:Er,Yb phosphors for dose rate estimation

The 3Al2O3–2SiO2 phosphors having different concentrations of erbium and ytterbium were synthetized by sol–gel technique, and thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) properties of these samples were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the samples confirmed the formation of the mullite crystal and revealed presence of nanocrystalline structure of erbium silicon and erbium oxide in 3Al2O3–2SiO2 doped with Er, and ytterbium oxide nanocrystals for the Yb doped one. TL and OSL emissions parameters (trap depth, frequency factor, order of kinetics and decay constant) were evaluated by fitting the experimental curves with theoretical models. The suitability of 3Al2O3–2SiO2:Er; Yb for environmental radiation or in accident retrospective dosimetry has been discussed.