Comparison of thermoluminescence characteristics of undoped and europium doped YAl3(BO3)4 phosphor synthesized by combustion method: Anomalous heating rate, dose response and kinetic analyses

Abstract

In this study, undoped and YAl3(BO3)4 phosphors doped with Eu3+ at varying concentrations (x = 0.5 to 7 wt%) produced by a combustion process have been thoroughly examined by using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermoluminescence (TL) techniques. The crystallized phosphors were confirmed by XRD analysis, and its crystal structure was examined. XRD analyses of the synthesized phosphor is in accordance with ICSD File No 96-152-6006. TL glow curve of undoped sample produced three glow peaks located at 80 °C, 240 °C, and 360 °C with a heating rate of 2°Cs−1 whilst Eu3+ doped one appears at 90 °C, 230 °C, and 390 °C. The undoped example complied with the theory as expected, namely, as the heating rate increased, the TL glow curve shifted towards lower temperatures and decreased in intensity. However, an anomalous change was observed in the sample with Eu3+ additive. The experimental findings from the dose-response of YAl3(BO3)4:0.5 wt%Eu3+ demonstrate that the intensity of TL provided by the total area under glow curves has an acceptable linearity (r2:0.999) up to 100 Gy. The intensity of each maximum on the TL glow curve augments proportionally as the heating rate is augmented. Possible reasons of this behaviour are discussed. Various heating rate (VHR) methods (such as Hoogenstraaten's and Booth-Bohun-Parfianovitch) have also been used to estimate kinetic parameters (e.g., energy and frequency factor), which seem to be in good agreement with each other.