Dose re-estimation using thermoluminescence of chip inductors and resistors following the dose estimation by using optically stimulated luminescence readout for retrospective accident dosimetry

Abstract

In the recent years, intensive research on the application of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) from alumina rich electronic components, such as resistors and inductors of electronic gadgets, is being carried out for retrospective dosimetry in the event of radiological accidents or terroristic attacks. It was noted that in inductors of mobile phones, the OSL readout did not significantly affect the thermoluminescence (TL) signal of glow peaks above 200 °C which exhibited negligible fading. This effect was exploited to re-estimate the doses by using TL signal (“residual TL”) of the inductors and the resistors which were already subjected to OSL readout for the estimation of the given doses. The dose response of the residual TL signal was also found to be linear up to about 4 Gy for both the inductors and resistors. The estimation of doses by using OSL and the re-estimation by using residual TL was carried out for the nominal doses of 300 mGy, 1700 mGy and 3300 mGy. The estimated doses and the re-estimated doses were in the range of about 80%–97% of the nominal doses for the inductors and in the range of about 76%–111% for the resistors. It was concluded that the residual TL could be used for the re-estimation of doses in some cases of radiological accidents.