The potential of luminescence signals from electronic components for accident dosimetry

This study investigated the optically stimulated luminescence of a large number of electronic components extracted from both old and new generation mobile phones and chip modules of phone cards. Most resistors and all chip modules studied present a linear dose response (R> 0.99) in the dose range investigated (200 mGy up to 6 Gy, respectively 10 Gy), while capacitors, inductors and integrated circuits generally have a non-linear growth (exponential or cubic). For our experimental setup, an average specific luminescence of similar to 20,000 cts in 2 s/Gy (n = 10) and similar to 6000 cts in 2 s/Gy (n = 14) was obtained for two types of chip modules with a relatively high degree of homogeneity (relative standard deviation of 23% and 31%) and a minimum detectable dose of 7 mGy for immediate measurement. The investigated signals show small sensitivity changes (generally <10%) after repeated cycles of irradiation and readout. Preliminary fading measurements are presented. It can be concluded that most mobile phones and phone card components have a significant potential as retrospective luminescence dosimeters. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.