Towards the development of doped silica radioluminescence dosimetry

Abstract

We discuss recent investigations by members of this group concerning the performance of P-doped silica for radioluminescence-based dosimetry. Comparisons are made against that of an in-house developed Ge-doped silica system and carbon-doped alumina (Al2O3:C). The readout obtained for dose-rate evaluations herein make use of the phenomena of radioluminescence (RL), which is enabled by defects giving rise to electron trapping. We have compared the RL signal originating from our Ge- and P-doped silica optical fibres (doping of Ge and P being the primary sources of defects in the silica media) and commercial nanoDot Al2O3:C dosimeters, the RL signal being guided through PMMA optical fibres to obtain real-time measurements. In regard to afterglow, the P-doped fibre retains the least memory of prior irradiation, favouring its use in real-time evaluations in the use of pulsed beams, improving upon the performance of the Ge-doped fibre.