Optically stimulated luminescence fluence response of Al2O3:CAl2O3:C dosimeters exposed to different types of radiation

This paper presents the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) fluence response of carbon-doped aluminum oxide (Al2O3:CAl2O3:C) dosimeters irradiated with heavy charged particles (HCPs) of energies relevant to radiation protection in space. The dosimeters were exposed to seven HCP beams with linear energy transfer in water from 0.223 keV/μm to 431.8keV/μm, and fluences from 2.9×103cm-2 to 2.8×1010cm-2. Irradiations with a 90Sr/90Y90Sr/90Y beta source were also performed for comparison. The results show that the dosimeters’ response to high-energy protons is similar to that for the 90Sr/90Y90Sr/90Y beta source. The supralinearity in the dose response curve of dosimeters exposed to the 90Sr/90Y90Sr/90Y beta source and high-energy protons can be avoided by appropriate choice of optical filters. For HCPs from He to Fe no supralinearity was observed in the OSL dose response. We interpret the results in the framework of track structure model.