An imaging plate technique for evaluating energy attenuation in evaporated samples with different surface conditions

In this paper, a new technique was proposed using an imaging plate (IP) as a useful tool for visually and quantitatively evaluating the attenuation of radiation energy on radiation sources. Samples were prepared by evaporating (241)Am solution on stainless steel disks with well-polished and non-polished surfaces. The samples were measured with an IP and then the obtained images were analysed based on two-dimensional photostimulated luminescence data. The images for the polished disks generally showed lower uniformity in the distribution than those for the non-polished disks. However, the detailed analysis of the images revealed a poor correlation between the source distribution and the attenuation of radiation energy for the disk samples, indicating that the non-uniformity of distribution was not a primary cause of the attenuation of radiation energy for the samples. The demonstration in this study showed a potential usefulness of the IP-based technique for evaluating self-absorption mechanisms, although the technique remains to be critically tested particularly using disk samples made by different preparation methods.