Thermoluminescence dosimetry properties and kinetic analysis of K3 Ca2 (SO4 )3 F:Dy3+ phosphor.

Abstract

A trivalent Dy3+ -activated K3 Ca2 (SO4 )3 F fluoride-based phosphor was synthesized using a solid-state reaction method and characterized for its thermoluminescence (TL) application. The crystal structure and surface morphology of the as-synthesized material was analyzed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. A series of the K3 Ca2 (SO4 )3 F:Dy3+ phosphor was irradiated using γ-rays from a 60 Co source and TL glow curves were recorded using a Nucleonix 1009I TL reader. The glow curve of the prepared phosphor showed a prominent single peak at 278°C. TL characteristics were maximum intensity at 1mol% of Dy3+ ion with a single TL glow peak. The TL glow curve revealed linearity with increase in exposure dose range from 0.1kGy to 3.0kGy. Theoretical analysis of the TL glow curve of the γ-ray-irradiated sample was carried out using a computerized glow curve deconvolution method and trapping parameters such as activation energy and frequency factor were calculated using the initial rise method and Ilich's method. The synthesized Dy3+ -doped K3 Ca2 (SO4 )3 phosphor revealed excellent TL properties and was found to be a potential candidate for dosimetric applications.