Sensing of thermal history using thermoluminescent microparticles

The thermal history of a material with initially filled trap states has been probed using the thermoluminescence of microparticle sensors. Mg₂SiO_4:Tb,Co particles with two thermoluminescence peaks have been heated using microheaters over a 230degC to 310degC range for durations of less than 200 ms. The effect of maximum temperature during excitation on the intensity ratio of the peaks is compared with first-order kinetics theory and shown to match within an average error of 4.4%.