Thermoluminescence characteristics of MgSO4:Dy,Mn phosphor

Abstract The MgSO 4 :Dy,Mn thermoluminescence (TL) phosphors have been prepared by co-doping with various concentrations of activators the Dy and Mn. The dose–responses to gamma-rays are studied by deconvolution of the TL glow curves. It is found that the TL sensitivity of the MgSO 4 :Dy,Mn phosphor is comparable to that of the phosphor LiF:Mg,Ti. Besides, there is only one main dosimetric peak at 383°C in its TL glow curve. The trap parameters of the dosimetric peak were obtained as activation energy E ∼1.972 eV, the frequency-factor s ∼4.294×10 14 s −1 and the kinetic order b ≈2 by fitting the glow curves with general-order kinetics. The area of this dosimetric peak is ∼90% of the integral area of the whole glow curve for a gamma dose range of 0.1 Gy–20 kGy. The dose response of MgSO 4 :Dy,Mn to gamma-rays in this dose range is supralinear. There are no radiation damage effects observed in TL glow curves above 1 kGy as that occurred in LiF dosimeters.