The effect of boron co-doping on thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence properties of LiMgPO4:Tb,Sm

Abstract

The effect of boron co-doping on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) properties of LiMgPO4:Tb,Sm,B prepared by solid-state reaction was studied. The structure of the prepared materials was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The TL glow curves of samples irradiated with different doses of β rays were tested. No matter how much B is doped, the peaks at 190 or 280 °C are for a first-order kinetic glow curve. The activation energy and frequency factor remained almost unchanged with the increase of boron doping concentration, which indicated the trap centers of LiMgPO4:Tb,Sm,B were independent of boron doping concentration. The E at 190 and 280 °C are around 1.16 eV and 1.55 eV. Photo-ionization cross-section showed significant changes and the sensitivity of OSL reached a maximum for a concentration of 4 mol% with increasing of boron doping concentration. B-doping enhanced the OSL-signal with a factor 2.6 when B concentration is 4 mol%. The repeatability of the powders for OSL were also studied and the relative standard deviation was less than 1.5%. The minimal detectable dose (MDD) of LiMgPO4:Tb,Sm,B with a boron doping concentration of 4 mol% was 8.2 μGy. This material has a fast decay time, good repeatability, low MDD and has further research value.