The effects of annealing and irradiation on the sensitivity and superlinearity properties of the 110°C thermoluminescence peak of quartz

Quartz samples which undergo heating and irradiation treatments exhibit changes in their sensitivity to irradiation, as well as in their TL dose response. These changes of thermoluminescence (TL) sensitivity and superlinearity of the 110∘C TL peak of quartz have been the subject of several experimental and theoretical studies, because they form the basis of the predose technique for dating ceramics and for accident dosimetry. In an effort to separate experimentally the effects of irradiation and annealing on the predose effect, three quartz samples of different origin were prepared under three different conditions: unannealed samples, samples annealed at 500∘C, and samples annealed at 900∘C. Complete TL versus dose and sensitivity S   versus predose curves were obtained for the dose range of 0.1