Thermoluminescence properties, radiation-induced defects, and glow curve deconvolution in Mn2+-doped Na–Al phosphate glasses

<title>Abstract</title> <p> Thermoluminescence (TL), which is an emission phenomenon applied to dosimetry, is attributed to the recombination of electron–hole pairs after the re-excitation of trapped electrons and holes generated by ionizing radiation. Although new thermoluminescent materials are regularly being developed, it still relies on trial and error because of the complex trap behavior. Therefore, the development of new thermoluminescent materials and the elucidation of the TL mechanism are important. In this study, we investigated essential TL properties, identified the radiation-induced defects, and analyzed the TL glow curves obtained using Mn ²⁺ -doped Na–Al phosphate glass. The results revealed that the TL intensity increased linearly as the dose was increased from 0.1 to 1000 Gy. Electrons and holes generated by X-rays were trapped in the glass network and Mn ²⁺ , respectively. In addition, Mn ²⁺ acted as TL emission center. Furthermore, based on the TL glow curve deconvolution, it is suggested that six kinds of traps with activation energies of 0.61, 0.72, 0.87, 0.88, 0.97, and 1.1 eV contribute to TL in Mn ²⁺ -doped Na–Al phosphate glass. </p>