Development and characterization of an optically stimulated luminescent detector based on natural Brazilian alexandrite

• Grant number: 21/12758-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Nuclear Engineering - Applications of Radioisotopes
• Principal Investigator: Neilo Marcos Trindade
• Grantee: Matheus Cavalcanti dos Santos Nunes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/05982-0 - R&D&I in radiation metrology in the health area, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/14516-8 - Study of mechanisms of luminescence in alexandrite pellets using Optically Stimulated Luminescence, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Optically Stimulation Luminescence (OSL) is one of the main techniques used in medical and personal dosimetry of ionizing radiation. OSL is the luminescence emitted by the recombination of charges optically released from specific traps within a material previously irradiated by ionizing radiation. Despite several advantages of using this technique over others used in dosimetry; there are still only two commercial detectors available, based on Al2O3:C and BeO, which justifies the search for new OSL materials for dosimetry. Recently, it was concluded that Brazilian natural alexandrite (BeAl2O4:Cr3+) presents an OSL signal that grows linearly as a function of the beta radiation dose, with reproducibility and repeatability within uncertainties and a small signal loss in fading tests. However, to develop a detector that is innovative and commercially accessible, it is important to expand these analyzes to other types of radiation, such as gamma and X-rays. Within this context, the objective of this project is to study the luminescence of natural alexandrite incorporated in a polymer matrix for different radiation exposures through the OSL technique, and also identify the luminescent centers of the material using Radioluminescence (RL), a technique that has been increasingly used in Brazil. (AU)