Thermoluminescence properties of MSO4-B2O3 glasses doped with RE3+(RE = Dy, Sm, Tb) ions and their applicability in radiation dosimetry

Alkali earth metals sulfate -borate glasses with composition MSO4-B2O3 (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) doped with rare earth ions (Dy3+ or Sm3+ or Tb3+) (MSB:RE3+) were prepared by melting technique in a reducing medium using graphite. The amorphous nature of the prepared glasses was confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns. The study results of optical spectroscopy showed that the point defects of the host matrix including borate radicals BO3 2- , sulfate (SO42-), and oxygen vacancies (Ov-) act as traps and centers, whereas the RE3+ ions play the role of the luminescence in the thermoluminescence (TL) process. The binding energy of oxygen ions and their kinetics during TL is tied to the activation energy of the traps. The TL properties of MSB:RE3+ such as sensitivity, doseresponse, linearity, storage stability of the dosimetric peak, and reproducibility were investigated in detail. The applicability of materials in the dosimetry area was proposed based on these investigation results.