The radiation-induced increase of thermoluminescence sensitivity of the dosimetry phosphor LiF(TLD-100)

Thermoluminescence (TL) and optical absorption measurements on LiF(TLD-100) show that the radiation- induced increase of TL sensitivity of this phosphor occurs in the luminescence process. New data are presented on thermally stimulated exoelectron emission (TSEE), photoluminescence (PL) and radioluminescence (RL). The TSEE results confirm that some of the TL traps in LiF(TLD-100) capture electrons. The PL behaviour suggests that the increased TL sensitivity does not arise from an increase in the number of luminescence centres which participate in the TL process, and that the most likely cause of the increased TL sensitivity is the removal of competitors with the luminescence centres. The RL data indicate that the TL traps are localized near the luminescence centres, especially those centres from which there is increased photon emission.