Investigation of the thermoluminescence dosimeter characteristics of multilayer ZnO(300 Nm)/Ag(50 Nm)/ZnO(X) thin films for photonic dosimetry applications

Abstract

This study demonstrated a novel sensor based on a semiconductor–metal–semiconductor multilayer film for photonic dosimetry that was synthesized at 300 °C using radiofrequency RF sputtering. The dosimetric properties of samples exposed to X-ray doses of up to 4 Gy were investigated. The system ZnO(300 nm)/Ag(50 nm)/ZnO(x nm) was chosen based hiest thermoluminescence TL intensity. The glow curve exhibited a single peak with a maximum temperature peak Tm of 246 °C. In addition, the proposed dosimeter has a linear dose-response up to 4 Gy. The heating rate with the highest TL intensity was 3 °C/s. The best annealing protocol for optimal TL intensity and minimum standard deviation was found at 200 °C and 30 min. Most dosimeter parameters were investigated, including homogeneity, precision, and fading properties. The kinetic parameters of the dosimeter were calculated and employed two methods: peak shape and initial rise. The results showed that the trap has activation energies at 0.51 and 0.53 eV and frequency factor between 0.25 × 108 and 0.5 × 109. Other features, like recycling, the receding of TL at room temperature, and optical fading, have been investigated. The suggested dosimeter demonstrated good radiation-measuring characteristics. The glow curve was immediately acquired, the annealing process was uncomplicated, and the dosimeter had a high sensitivity of 1.49 of TLD-100, making it suitable for radiation monitoring.