Waterproofing pellets for Optically Stimulated Luminescence dosimetry

Abstract

Several doped materials are being studied for dosimetric application, but when some dopant is used with the aim to increase the sensibility, some of these can increases the hygroscopic properties of the sample, which is not suitable for dosimetry. If the material absorbs water during the storage period, it may change their luminescent properties, reducing or completely erasing the signal produced by ionizing radiation. Unlike thermoluminescence, OSL measurements do not need high temperature to read the signal, however, sometimes some assisted temperature or preheating is required. In this work is presented a new low-cost option for performing OSL measurements, even with preheating up to 160 oC. It was tested a transparent enamel for sticking the luminescent powdered samples on aluminum disc and also covering the samples with the enamel avoiding in this way the absorption of humidity from the environment, even the signal decreases, the reproducibility and fading do not depend of their hygroscopic properties.