Abstract
The effects of irradiation by 48 MeV Li3+ and 150 MeV Ag12+ ion beams on the thermoluminescence (TL) of BaSO4 : Eu phosphor are studied. Samples in the form of pellets were exposed to different fluences in the range 1 x 10(9)-5 x 10(11) ions cm(-2). The modifications in TL glow curves of the materials irradiated by lithium (Li) and silver (Ag) beams are essentially similar to those induced by gamma--ray irradiation. There is a significant variation in the relative intensity between the main glow peak at 497K and the small shoulder at 465 K. This variation is more dominant in the samples irradiated by Ag ions. This has been attributed to the change in the population of the luminescent/trapping centres (LCs/TCs) during the bombardment by high-energy heavy ions. The relative TL efficiency values of BaSO4 : Eu to 48 MeV Li and 150 MeV Ag ion beams have been measured relative to 0.662 MeV gamma-rays of Cs-137 and are found to be 0.374 and 0.0017, respectively. It is found that BaSO4 : Eu phosphor is suitable for recording irradiation from light ions (Li) as well as heavy ions (Ag) as it shows linearity in its TL responses over wide ranges of fluences of ion beams. It is linear in the ranges 1 x 10(9)-1 x 10(11) and 1 x 10(9)-1 x 10(10) ions cm(-2) for Li and Ag ion beams, respectively. This property along with its low fading make BaSO4 : Eu phosphor a good candidate to be used as a dosimeter for cosmic rays and medical applications.