Thermoluminescent characteristics of LiF:Mg,Ti from three manufacturers

LiF:Mg,Ti thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD's) were obtained from three manufacturers with the specification that they all lie within +/- 5% of the mean. All were chips of size 3 mm x 3 mm x 1 mm. The three sample groups were compared on the basis of their energy response, linearity of the thermoluminescent (TL) response with increasing exposure, sensitivity, and reproducibility of TL response. All TLD groups showed similar characteristics in energy response and linearity. This is to be expected since the base material and dopants were the same. However, the sensitivity varied among the three groups by as much as 40% and reproducibility measurements gave standard deviations ranging from 7% to 14% among the groups. Annealing procedures were identical in all cases, as were irradiation and readout conditions.