OSL signal of IC chips from mobile phones for dose assessment in accidental dosimetry

Abstract The rapid assessment of the radiation dose is very important for the prediction of biological effects after unintended exposition. The materials for use as dosimeters in accidental dosimetry should be everyday objects which are usually placed near the human body, for example mobile phones. IC (Integrated Circuit) chip is one of several electronic components of mobile phones which give a luminescent signal. The measurements of samples from different mobile phones and smartphones were conducted by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) methods. The OSL measurement was performed in two ways: with readouts at room temperature and at 100 °C. This work is focused on determination of OSL dose response of IC chips, minimum detectable dose (MDD), OSL signal stability in the time after the exposition, its repeatability and sensitivity to light. Several tests of the assessment of unknown doses were also conducted. The readouts at 100 °C indicate the reducing of the fading of OSL signal in the first hours after irradiation in comparison with room temperature readouts. The obtained results showed relatively good dosimetric properties of IC chips: their high sensitivity to the ionizing radiation, linear dose response up to 10 Gy and a good reproducibility of OSL signal which can allow the dose recovery of doses less than 2 Gy in 14 days after an incident with the accuracy better than 25%. The fading is a drawback of IC chips and the fading factor should be considered when calculating the dose.