Dependence of TLD thermoluminescence yield on absorbed dose in a thermal neutron field

The emission from 6LiF and 7LiF thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) exposed to the mixed field of thermal neutrons and gamma-rays of the thermal facility of a TRIGA MARK II nuclear reactor has been investigated for various thermal neutron fluences of the order of magnitude of those utilised in radiotherapy, with the purpose of investigating the reliability of TLD readouts in such radiation fields and of giving some information for better obtainment of the absorbed dose values. The emission after exposure in this mixed field is compared with the emission after gamma-rays only. The glow curves have been deconvoluted into gaussian peaks, and the differences in the characteristics of the peaks observed for the two radiation fields, having different linear energy transfers, and for different doses are shown. Irreversible radiation damage in dosimeters having high sensitivity to thermal neutrons is also reported, showing a memory effect of the previous thermal neutron irradiation history which is not restored by anneal treatment.