SUPRALINEARITY AND SENSITIZATION FACTORS IN THERMOLUMINESCENCE

Supralinearity and pre-dose sensitization are two characteristics of thermoluminescence (TL) glow peaks which are seen together in many of the TL phosphors. In this paper, theoretical expressions are derived for the supralinearity and pre-dose sensitization factors, based on the interactive trap system model. A new term called sensitization factor (S(n)F) is introduced, which differs from the pre-dose sensitization factor (PDSF) but is related directly to the supralinearity factor (SF). The factors SF and S(n)F coincide in the low and medium dose range. At high doses the latter departs considerably from the former. The case of LiF TLD-100 is used to demonstrate the application of the theory to actual experimental results.