Thermoluminescence of Ba0.97Ca0.03SO4:Eu irradiated with 48 MeV 7Li ion beam

Thermoluminescence (TL) of Ba0.97Ca0.03SO4:Eu phosphor, irradiated with 48 MeV 7Li ions at different fluences in the range 1 × 109–1 × 1012 ions/cm2, has been studied. The phosphor was prepared by the chemical co-precipitation technique. Its pellets were irradiated using a 16 MV Tandem Van de-Graff type Electrostatic Pelletron Accelerator at Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi, India. The samples from the same batch were also irradiated with γ-rays from a Cs137 source for comparative studies. It has been found that the TL glow peak at 460 K, seen prominently in γ-irradiated sample, appeared as a small shoulder at around 465 K in 7Li3+ ion irradiated sample, while that observed as a shoulder in the former at 430 K, dominantly appeared in the latter at around 435 K. Trapping parameters of both, ion beam and γ-irradiated materials, were also obtained after the deconvolution of the glow curves and discussed in the paper. The TL response curve of the ion beam irradiated samples has a linear ion beam fluence response over the range 1 × 109–1 × 1010 ions/cm2. This property along with its low fading and simple glow curve structure makes Ba0.97Ca0.03SO4:Eu phosphor a suitable dosimeter for heavy charged particles (HCP).