Stephen W. S. McKeever - A Course in Luminescence Measurements and Analyses for Radiation Dosimetry

The book emphasizes pedagogy rather than the latest research. State-of-the-art research is included only if it demonstrates a principle or opens new insight into physical mechanisms. Thus, the primary purpose of the book is to teach beginning researchers in the field about the three techniques, their similarities and distinctions, and their applications. The intent is to provide the reader with the building blocks with which they can examine the latest research and have a sufficient understanding of it to enable them to raise questions and conceive future research programs to answer those questions.

A note on the Exercises : To emphasize the book as a teaching tool, several substantial Exercises are introduced at various points in the book for the reader to test their understanding of the subject matter being discussed. These include derivations of important relationships, or numerical simulations, or solutions to differential equations, etc., in order to demonstrate the various processes. Some are prescriptive, but others are open ended, requiring the reader to draw their own conclusions from the results of the Exercises. The Exercises also include analysis of real experimental data. For this purpose, the book has a companion website where the reader will find some original data sets (TL, OSL, RPL) that may be used by the reader to analyse using the material learned from the book. New data and new problems may be introduced via the web site in the future and in this way the book will be updated and refreshed for future students. In this sense, the author hopes that the book will serve as a “living” teaching tool.

Although it is recommended that the Exercises be worked one by one in the order given, the reader may wish to skip some of the Exercises if they do not align strongly with the reader’s own research interests. Many of them are lengthy. While most are designed for the individual reader, supervisors and advisors may decide that some may be better solved as group exercises, perhaps as part of a tutorial. Some may even form the basis of internal research projects and reports.

What this book is not : Firstly, the book is not a course in radiation dosimetry. That topic is adequately covered in many excellent existing textbooks.

Secondly, the book is not an updated summary of the latest research on luminescence dosimetry. It is not a review. Several books exist on the topics of TL, OSL, and (to a much lesser extent) RPL. Each, by and large, is a summary of the latest research and newest developments and applications of the techniques (at the times that the books were written) and generally deal with the chosen topic (i.e. TL, OSL, or RPL) in isolation. For example, several texts exist on TL and related thermally stimulated processes, introducing the standard energy band diagrams and kinetic equations, analysis of TL glow curves, and subsequent applications. One can also identify similar texts on OSL. (Only one text, of which this author is aware, deals with RPL.) Rarely, however, do the published books relate one technique to another, except in passing. This is especially true of RPL and its relationship to TL and/or OSL.

Nor does the book present a list of references to all the latest research or pivotal developments. The original material is for the reader to find in independent study. Only when the author has judged that additional reading would be useful, or that the meaning requires more explanation, are references to the original literature included. Readers who wish to avail themselves of the latest research are advised to refer to the proceedings of relevant conferences in the field and to original, peer-reviewed literature. The author hopes that this book will assist in an understanding of the material readers find in those publications.

To achieve the goals outlined above, the book is constructed in two parts. Part I deals with theory, models, and kinetics. It can be considered as a “tool-box” into which the reader can delve to help form an understanding of the underlying principles which govern luminescence phenomena. In the same way that a designer of a new aircraft or of a sophisticated automobile will need an understanding of the basic principles of mechanics, materials, and aerodynamics, so too should the budding researcher into luminescence dosimetry have at hand a similar understanding of the basics of electronic processes in solids, particularly the kinetics of charge generation and storage, stimulation, and recombination. Armed with this “tool-box” the reader can more fully appreciate the experimental phenomena described in Part II.

Part II discusses several real examples of the fundamentals outlined in Part I. The intent is to illustrate how the principles developed in Part I have been used in experiments to measure, understand, and exploit the properties of luminescence materials, especially as they relate to radiation dosimetry. To learn from the wisdom of Albert Einstein, knowing the luminescence properties of a material is one thing, but real progress is made only when we understand them. The author’s hope is that the reader can use the items in the “tool-box” and apply them to the properties of real materials in order to gain that understanding, and perhaps lead to greater creativity and innovation. As a caveat, however, the reader may be wise to recall the words of Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, which the author paraphrases as few theories survive first contact with an experiment .

The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of many colleagues in reading certain chapters and sections of the text, correcting mistakes, and making very positive suggestions. Also acknowledged are those who provided example data sets for use on the accompanying web site for reader analysis. Specific thanks go to Adrie Bos, Mayank Jain, Vasilis Pagonis, Nigel Poolton, Peter Townsend, Sergey Sholom, and Eduardo Yukihara, for their unfailing assistance in reading parts of the text and providing vital feedback to the author. Any remaining errors are the author’s own. Special thanks, however, go to my friend and long-time colleague, Sergey Sholom, for not only reading multiple sections of the book, but also in answering my persistent calls for original data for inclusion in the book and for uploading to the web site for use in the Exercises and for analysis by the readers. I will remain eternally grateful.

Further thanks are due to the many contributors of data and figures for use in the book, including, again, Adrie Bos, Vasilis Pagonis, Nigel Poolton, and Sergey Sholom, plus Mark Akselrod, Ramona Gaza, Guerda Massilon, Kahli Remy, and Hannes Stadmann. I also thank my many collaborators throughout my career from whom I have learned so much and who have guided me on my own stumbling path through the topic. Thanks are also due to the editorial staff at Wiley for their professional guidance and assistance. Finally, I thank my many brilliant students who over the years have also taught me so much at the same time as I, hopefully, have taught them. Teaching is a two-way process, and I have loved every minute of it. I hope this book does them all justice.

Reference to commercial products does not imply or represent endorsement of those products on the part of the author. It is noted that the author’s research has been funded at various points in his career by Landauer Inc. (USA) and Chiyoda Technol Corporation (Japan).

This book is accompanied by a companion website.

www.wiley.com/go/mckeever/luminescence-measurements

This website includes:

Exercises

Figures

Notes

When … simulation and approximation yield similar results, the validity of the conclusions is strengthened .