Thermoluminescence of NaF: Eu³⁺ phosphors exposed to beta particle irradiation

Pellet-shaped NaF:Eu³⁺ phosphors were synthesized by sintering. When a 5 K/s heating rate was used, the char-acteristic glow curves of beta particle irradiated samples exhibited two thermoluminescence (TL) maxima located at 401 K and 498 K, being the higher temperature max-imum the most intense. A peak located between 473 and 523 K is considered to have a position very suitable to assure good thermal stability of the stored TL, so this phosphor is attractive for radiation dosimetry. Beta particle irradiated samples displayed a TL response that increases as the radiation dose increased in the 0.08 to 42.5 Gy dose range, with a linear behavior below 10 Gy followed by a sublinear one for higher doses. Under storage after irradiation, the TL maximum at 498 K displayed a remarkable stability, and the TL fading revealed that the maximum at 401 K is not a single peak.