Title: Development of sintered composites of CaSO₄ doped with Dy and Nd

Authors: Marcos Antonio Passos Chagas, Lucas De Jesus Parente, Divanizia Do Nascimento Souza

Addresses: Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Av. Marechal Rondon, s/n, Rosa Elze, 49100-000 Aracaju, SE, Brazil. ' Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Av. Marechal Rondon, s/n, Rosa Elze, 49100-000 Aracaju, SE, Brazil. ' Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Av. Marechal Rondon, s/n, Rosa Elze, 49100-000 Aracaju, SE, Brazil

Abstract: The main purpose of this work is the development of sintered composites in order to allow their use as thermoluminescence (TL) dosimeters using a simple route to preparation and employing high temperature. The composites were prepared with CaSO₄.2H₂O doped with Dy₂O₃ and NdO₃. Initially, CaSO₄.2H₂O was dehydrated in an oven at 100°C for 1 h. After addition of dopants and homogenisation, Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) was incorporated into the compounds to make their compaction easier. The pellets, 6 mm in diameter and 1 mm thick, were sintered at 900°C and 1000°C for 6 h. The TL emission curves showed two peaks when the samples were irradiated with a beta source (⁹⁰Sr + ⁹⁰Y). During calibration, TL responses were found to be proportional to the absorbed dose. The results showed that this material can potentially be used in dosimetry.

Keywords: thermoluminescent dosimeters; emission; pellets; dopants; sintered composites; dosimetry.

DOI: 10.1504/AFP.2010.031016

Atoms for Peace: an International Journal, 2010 Vol.3 No.1, pp.11 - 18

Published online: 18 Jan 2010 *

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