Thermally and optically stimulated luminescence of AlN-Y₂O₃ ceramics after ionising irradiation

Thermally (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) were studied in AIN-Y₂O₃ ceramics after irradiation with ionising radiation. The extremely high TL sensitivity (approximately 60 times the sensitivity of LiF:Mg,Tl (TLD-100)) makes AIN-Y₂O₃ ceramics attractive as a TLD material. However, an essential drawback of AIN-Y₂O₃, is its high fading rate. Special attention has been focused on understanding and improving the fading properties. In particular, the influence of the ceramics production conditions and the additive concentration on the fading rate have been studied. Experimental results on spectral properties and thermal evolution of OSL are also presented. The stimulation spectrum covers the spectral range from green to infrared light. A combination of thermal and optical stimulation allowed a correlation to be found between parameters of OSL and TL after the same irradiation dose. It is concluded that OSL occurs due to depopulation of shallower traps than TL traps.