Doped and undoped lead borate glass-ceramics as thermoluminescent detectors

Undoped and Ce and Eu doped glasses and glass ceramic materials with nominal composition 33 % PbO 67 % B₂O₃ (% in mol), were obtained by melting/quenching technique. Glass ceramics were obtained by subsequent crystallization of glass samples. Glass samples were characterized by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) and UV-Vis spectrometry. Glass-ceramics were characterized by X-Ray Powder Diffraction, and by measuring their therluminescence response as a function of ⁹⁰Sr irradiation dose. from a lead borate glass intended for thermoluminescence dosimetry, as far as to study the effects that crystallization and Eu and Ce doping produce on their thermoluminescence response. PbB₄O₇ was found as the only crystalline phase in doped and undoped glass-ceramics. Ce-doping was found to give a narrower bandgap than Eu one, and also introduces new electronical states. Crystallization clearly increases the thermoluminescence response, while undoped material gives higher response up to 20 Gy, although Ce-doping gives linearity up to 35 Gy and a higher response above 20 Gy. Among the studied samples, lead borate glass-ceramics, Ce-doped and undoped, present the best performance and they are then promising materials for thermoluminescence dosimetric applications.