Optically stimulated luminescence of magnesium aluminate (MgAl2O4)(MgAl2O4) spinel

Magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl2O4)(MgAl2O4) is a crystal studied in detail mainly because of its radiation resistance and good optical and insulating features. A new characteristic of this material is presented here, which may be applied to radiation dosimetry. Spinel crystals present a high optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signal linearly related to the absorbed dose of ionizing radiation. The correlation of OSL with thermoluminescence (TL) shown in the paper indicates that trapped carriers connected to at least three TL glow peaks (63, 260 and 540∘C, 1∘Cs-1) participate in the OSL process. Part of the OSL signal emitted by spinel fades very rapidly at room temperature but a more stable component of the emission can be properly separated and used as a dose indicator with good reproducibility.