A critical look at the kinetic parameter values used in simulating the thermoluminescence glow-curve

Objections against utilizing the peak fitting method in computing the kinetics parameters of thermoluminescence (TL) glow-peaks were discussed previously in the literature. These objections came through testing the accuracy of the peak fitting by applying on simulated peaks. The results showed that in some cases the simulated peaks may have unusual geometrical properties and do not reflect the real properties of TL peaks. Thereby, estimating the accuracy of the peak fitting by applying on such peaks would be misleading. Two main reasons may lead to unrealistic simulated peaks; the improper selection of the simulation inputs, and performing the TL simulation process via the heating stage only. It has been proved that considering the irradiation and the relaxation stages in the simulation process is crucial. However, there are other cases in which the analytical methods were not able to reveal the real values of the simulated peaks. These cases were successfully resolved using analytical expressions derived from the one trap-one recombination (OTOR) level model and the non-interactive multiple trap system (NMTS) model. A general conclusion can be drawn that the accuracy of the peak fitting method is critically dependent on the TL analytical expressions utilized in this method. The failure of this method in estimating the TL kinetic parameters should be attributed to the TL model equation utilized in fitting process.