Numerical Investigation on Photon Sensing Parameters for Some Thermoluminescence Dosimeters: A Comparative Study

Abstract

In the present work, twelve inorganic thermoluminescence dosimeteric (TLD) materials doped with some rare earth elements (LiF:Sm, LiBaP2O7:Eu, CaCO3:Eu, CaSO4:Dy, SrSO4:Sm, CdSO4:Dy, BaSO4:Eu, Li2B4O7:Dy, MgB4O7:Gd, Al2O3:Gd, MgAl2O4:Ce and LiCaAlF6:Eu) and three organic TLD materials (C3H7NO2, C7H8O2 and C4H6BaO4) were selected for comparative analysis on the basis of different photon sensing parameters. About nine photon sensing parameters viz. mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), mean free path (mfp), half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), effective atomic number (EAN), effective electron number (EEN), exposure buildup factor (EBF) and energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) were obtained for the selected fifteen TLDs. The simultaneous variation of these photon sensing parameters for the selected TLDs with photon energy and composition has been analyzed. The results of present comparative analysis help radiation physicists to easily select a particular dosimeter for their research laboratory from different existing compositions. All photon sensing parameters viz. MAC, LAC, mfp, HVL, TVL, EAN, EEN, EBF and EABF for selected TLDs strongly depend upon incident energy and chemical composition in lower and higher energy regions. Among the selected TLDs; BaSO4: Eu3+ offers best results (maximum values for MAC, EAN, EEN; and minimum values for mfp, HVL, TVL, EBF, EABF); whereas MgB4O7:Gd3+ offers EAN value close to tissue and less variation in most of the sensing parameters with respect to photon energy.