γ-Ray induced thermoluminescence characteristics of the PbO-Al2O3-SiO2:Pr3+glass system

This paper reports thermoluminescence (TL) studies on PbO-Al2O3-SiO2: Pr3+glasses mixed with varying concentrations of Al2O3 exposed to γ-rays of doses varied between 0 and 5.0 kGy. The TL glow curves of the γ-ray irradiated samples exhibited a dosimetric peak at about 200 °C and the area under the curve increased with increasing Al2O3 and also with the γ-ray dose. The mechanisms responsible for TL emission are quantitatively discussed. The dose response of these glass samples exhibited linear behavior in the medium dose range viz., 1.0-3.0 kGy. Finally, it is observed that the glass mixed with 10 mol% of Al2O3 exhibits highest TL output. The reasons for such larger TL efficiency of these glasses have been identified and discussed quantitatively with the help of the results of optical absorption, IR and Raman spectroscopy.