New aspects of a BeO-based optically stimulated luminescence dosimeter

The optical sensitivity of BeO-based luminophors is well known for many years. A simple OSL treatment, the equipment and resulting dosimetric properties of BeO will be described. In contrast to most OSL measurement techniques, detector stimulation and luminescence light recording are performed from opposite sides of the detector. This gives rise to a very short distance between detector surface and light sensor, and consequently an optimum of light yield. Dosimetric properties of various available forms of BeO sinter pellets were examined for a broad range of conditions. The dosimeters show linear dose response between less than 5μGy and 5 Gy. Long time fading of the signal is negligible. It amounts to less than 1% over six months. Other environmental factors like humidity neither influence the response. The greatest advantage of BeO is its very low photon energy dependence. Because of its effective atomic number the luminophor is nearly tissue equivalent. This fact and all other excellent dosimetric properties make BeO of interest for all applications in medicine, personal and environmental dosimetry.