Li ₃ PO ₄ : M (M=Tb, Cu) phosphors for radiation dosimetry

Abstract The dosimetric phosphors Li 3 PO 4 :M (M = Tb, Cu) were produced by modified solid‐state method. The structural and morphological characterization was carried out through X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Additionally, the photoluminescence (PL), thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) properties of powder Li 3 PO 4 doped with Tb and Cu were studied. It is advocated that Li 3 PO 4 : Cu phosphor not only shows higher OSL sensitivity (25 times or more) but also gives faster decay in OSL signals than that of Li 3 PO 4 : Tb 3+ phosphor. The minimum detectable dose (MDD) of Li 3 PO 4 :M (M = Tb, Cu) phosphors is found to be 21.69 × 10 −3 and 3.33 × 10 −6 J⋅kg −1 , respectively. In OSL mode, phosphor shows linear dose response in the range of 0.02–20.00 J·kg −1 . In TL mode, sensitivity of Li 3 PO 4 : Cu phosphor is more than that of Li 3 PO 4 : Tb phosphor. The kinetics parameters such as activation energy and frequency factors were determined by peak shape method, and photoionization cross sections of prepared phosphor were calculated.