Synthesis and characterisation of LiB₃O₅ nanophosphor as a TL dosimeter

In this work, lithium triborate (LiB₃O₅) nanophosphor was synthesised by precipitation assisted high-temperature solid-state method followed by heating at different sintering temperatures. Then, its crystal structure and morphology were fully characterised. LiB₃O₅ was doped with different concentrations of different dopants. To determine the thermoluminescence (TL) properties and structural specifications of doped lithium triborate, the sample was irradiated by photons and then, its TL glow curve was obtained using a TL dosimeter-reader system. To study the effect of heating rate (HR) on TL characterisation of this nanophosphor, TL measurements were done at different HRs. The results showed that, sintering temperature can affect the morphology and structural properties of lithium triborate and consequently its TL intensity. The findings also showed that the LiB₃O₅:Al nanophosphor with the dopant concentration of 2 wt.% has the highest sensitivity and the best peak position among the studied activators. The results of the HR method showed that this method may be provided accurate calculations of the physical parameters of the TL process. These results may be helpful in the development of tissue equivalent TL nanocrystalline detectors usable in medical and personnel dosimetry.