A novel high sensitivity KCaPO₄:Ce³⁺ phosphor for radiation dosimetry

Abstract

A series of KCa_(1−x)PO₄:_xCe³⁺ (x = 0.001, 0.005, and 0.01) phosphors were synthesized using a modified solid-state method. The phase purity and surface morphology of the as-prepared material was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a scanning electronic microscope (SEM). Additionally, the photoluminescence (PL), thermoluminescence (TL), and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) properties of KCaPO₄:Ce phosphor were studied. The XRD pattern of prepared phosphor matched well with its ICDD (International Center for Diffraction Data) file, and the average particle size was calculated using Debye–Scherrer’s formula. The PL excitation and emission spectra of prepared KCaPO₄:Ce were observed at 320 and 372 nm, respectively. With the increase of Ce³⁺ concentration, the emission spectra of KCaPO₄:Ce³⁺ phosphors shifted to a longer wavelength. The TL glow curves consist of three overlapping peaks in the temperature range of 50–300 °C. The kinetic parameters of the TL curves were calculated using the peak shape method. The TL/OSL sensitivity of prepared KaCaPO₄:Ce³⁺ phosphor was found to be more than the TL/OSL sensitivity of α-Al₂O₃:C (BARC) phosphor. The prepared phosphors are thus found to have good dosimetric characteristics, such as high sensitivity, linear dose response, excellent reusability and fading, etc. These results make KCaPO₄:Ce³⁺ phosphor an attractive material for radiation dosimetry applications.