Stimulated luminescence emission: From phenomenological models to master analytical equations

This paper reviews developments in phenomenological models of stimulated luminescence phenomena. A set of five master equations is presented, which describe a wide variety of stimulated luminescence signals: thermoluminescence, isothermal luminescence, optically stimulated luminescence and infrared stimulated luminescence. Both delocalized and localized models are reviewed, and analytical solutions are presented for these models. The master equations are tested against the solutions of the differential equations in the models, as well by fitting experimental data for a variety of luminescencent dosimetric materials. Three out of the five master equations involve the Lambert W(z) function, thus establishing this function as the theoretical cornerstone of the phenomenological luminescence models. The applicability of the superposition principle is discussed, in connection with computerized curve deconvolution analysis.