Gamma ray induced thermoluminescence studies of yttrium (III) oxide nanopowders doped with gadolinium

Y2O3:Gd3+ nanophosphor was prepared by the solid state reaction method. Systematic studies have been done to investigate the structural and optical properties of the gadolinium doped Y2O3 phosphor. The prepared phosphor was characterized by using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy and UV–VIS–NIR spectrophotometer. The XRD patterns reveal that these prepared phosphors have cubic phase crystal structure. SEM and TEM images showed uniform doping of the material over the entire materials. The energy band gap for gadolinium doped Y2O3 phosphor was revealed from the optical studies and was found to 5.1 eV. The prepared phosphors were also examined by thermoluminescence technique. The kinetic parameters like trap depth, frequency factor were calculated by using the Peak shape method, which are discussed in details. The TL Glow curves were fitted in CGCD (computerized glow curve convolution deconvolution) technique & trapping parameters calculated. The TL parameters such as activation energy for deconvoluted peak were found in the range of 0.82–2.24 eV. The frequency factor is of the order of between of 1.78 × 1012 and 9.84 × 1020 s−1.