Development of new optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) neutron dosimeters

This paper demonstrates the possibility of using neutron converters incorporated into Al2O3:CAl2O3:C dosimeters to produce new neutron-sensitive OSL dosimeters suitable for personal monitoring. A comparison between different neutron converters indicate that lithium-based compounds (6LiF and Li26CO3) result in the best neutron sensitivity, probably because of the relatively large range of the 2.75 MeV triton produced by the Li6(n,α)H3 neutron capture reaction. Based on these results, a new neutron-sensitive OSL composite material, identical to the one used in the Luxel™ and InLight™ dosimetry systems (Landauer Inc.) except for the smaller gamma sensitivity and enhanced neutron sensitivity, was produced and characterized. The gamma sensitivity of the new material is ∼35%∼35% the sensitivity of the regular Al2O3:CAl2O3:C material (Luxel™), due to reduced amount of Al2O3:CAl2O3:C in its composition. The neutron sensitivity achieved in this new material is ∼60%∼60% of the neutron sensitivity of 6LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-600).