Dimensionless study of the total response of thermally stimulated luminescence

The response of thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) is investigated theoretically. An original dimensionless treatment is proposed, first to highlight the key dimensionless factors rationalizing the competition between the mechanisms at play during the TSL readout, and second to clean up the approach from any particular values of the relevant physical parameters. The approach holds for an unlimited number of interactive traps. The total response from a current trap is derived and cast into simple formal expressions as a function of the recombination cross-section, the set of trapping cross-sections and of initial trap occupancies (i.e. those existing before the readout of the current peak). This allows one to calculate each peak response by taking proper account of carrier transfers accompanying the successive peak readouts.