Influence of dose history on thermoluminescence response of Ge-doped silica optical fibre dosimeters

Nowadays, silica based optical fibres show enough potential to be used as TL dosimeters in different applications. Reuse of optical fibre as a practical dosimeter demands to complete removal of accumulated doses via previous irradiations. This work investigates the existence and/or effect of remnant doses in fibre dosimeter from the previous irradiations, and proposes a method to control this artifact. A single mode Ge-doped optical fibre is used as TL radiation sensor, while a well calibrated Gammacell with 60Co source is used for irradiations. The effect of irradiation history on the TL response of optical fibres is surveyed extensively for doses ranged from 1 to 1000 Gy. The results show that the absorbed dose history in a fibre affects its response in the next irradiation cycles. It is shown that a dose history of around 100 Gy can increase the response of optical fibre by a factor of 1.72. The effect of annealing at higher temperatures on stabilizing the fibre response is also examined and results revealed that another alteration in the structure of trapping states occurs in glass medium which can change the sensitivity of fibres. Preservation of the sensitivity during successive irradiation cycles can be achieved by a proper annealing procedure accompanied by a pre-dose treatment.