Photon mass attenuation coefficients, effective atomic numbers and electron densities of some thermoluminescent dosimetric compounds

Abstract

Photon mass attenuation coefficients of some thermoluminescent dosimetric (TLD) compounds, such as LiF, CaCO3, CaSO4, CaSO4.2H2O, SrSO4, CdSO4, BaSO4, C4H6BaO4 and 3CdSO4.8H2O were determined at 279.2, 320.07, 514.0, 661.6, 1115.5, 1173.2 and 1332.5 keV in a well-collimated narrow beam good geometry set-up using a high resolution, hyper pure germanium detector. The attenuation coefficient data were then used to compute the effective atomic number and the electron density of TLD compounds. The interpolation of total attenuation cross-sections of photons of energyE in elements of atomic numberZ was performed using the logarithmic regression analysis of the data measured by the authors and reported earlier. The best-fit coefficients so obtained in the photon energy range of 279.2 to 320.07 keV, 514.0 to 661.6 keV and 1115.5 to 1332.5 keV by a piece-wise interpolation method were then used to find the effective atomic number and electron density of the compounds. These values are found to be in agreement with other available published values.