Optically stimulated luminescence properties of nanocrystalline Y3Al5O12 phosphor exposed to β radiation

The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) characterization of undoped Y3Al5O12 (YAG) nanocrystals, exposed to β radiation up to a dose of 0.6 kGy was performed. Previously β-irradiated samples showed a strong OSL intensity when stimulated with 470 nm light. The OSL intensity is comparable and in some cases exceeds that of thermoluminescence (TL) intensity build up under the same irradiation conditions. The integrated OSL decay curve was found to be a function of the irradiation dose exposure and it showed low OSL fading. This property along with the all optical readout dose determination and the lack of thermal quenching effects makes the YAG nanocrystals a very prospective optically stimulated luminescence dosimeter (OSLD) with great advantages over the TLD systems.