Abstract

ESPINOSA, G.. A study and characterization of the optically stimulated luminescence response of commercial SiO₂ optical fiber to gamma radiation. Rev. mex. fis. [online]. 2011, vol.57, suppl.1, pp.30-33. ISSN 0035-001X.

Everyday, is coming more common the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) as radiation measurement methodology. Although the OSL response characteristics of several chemical compounds such as aluminum oxide, beryllium oxide, potassium chloride and fused quartz have already been studied, research into new OSL materials is of continuing scientific and commercial interest. The thermoluminescence (TL) response characteristics of commercially, Nokia^® SiO₂ optical fiber have previously been studied. The aim of this work is to characterize the OSL response of the SiO₂ optical fiber to gamma radiation. The material preparation, pre-annealing, aliquot preparation, and OSL reading procedures are presented together with preliminary results of the investigation into the OSL response characteristics of the SiO₂ optical fiber. The total luminescence was found to be a linear function of gamma radiation dose within the range investigated (15.6 to 93.8 mGy). The experimental method yielded high reproducibility and very low residual effect. The OSL fading curve suggests that the optical fiber can be used for OSL measurements for approximately 150 hours (around 6 days) after exposure to gamma radiation. Taking into account the limits imposed by this fading, optical fiber can be successfully used as an OSL material to measure radiation doses such as those resulting from radiological accidents.

Keywords : OSL; SiO₂; optical fiber; gamma exposure.

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