Thermoluminescence response and apparent anomalous fading factor of Durango fluorapatite as a function of the heating rate

Abstract

AbstractThe anomalous fading (AF) of the Thermoluminescence (TL) signal has been observed in Durango apatite, and is believed to be caused by electrons transferred to the recombination sites via a tunnelling effect. The AF factor is a property unique for each glow‐peak of a glow‐curve and shows a remarkable stability, even when extreme experimental conditions are applied to this material. In the present work the AF is studied as a function of the rate at which the material is heated in order to obtain its TL. In this experimental study it is found that the TL response of Durango apatite is drastically increased as the rate of heating increases, contrary to what is expected from standard kinetic models of TL. An important consequence of this result is that, since the AF rate is monitored through the TL signal, the variations of TL as a function of the heating rate will be passed on to the evaluation of the AF rate. The result is an apparent decrease of the AF with an increasing heating rate, although the actual AF effect has no relation with the TL readout process. A possible explanation is proposed for the increase of the TL response and for the apparent decrease of the AF rate with the rate of heating. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)