A Simple Method for Glow Curve Analysis Improving TLD-100 Performance in the Dose Region Below 100 µGy

Abstract

A simple glow curve analysis method specifically adapted for low dose measurements is presented. The method, not attempting to resolve individual glow peaks, identifies the most relevant glow curve features determining the regions where information about background or thermoluminescent (TL) contributions can be extracted. The method presented discriminates between TL and non TL signals by estimating the background individually in the same readout from which dosimetric information is obtained. The method, when applied to TLD-100, substantially improves the repeatability in the lower dose range, and also lowers the minimum detectable dose currently attributed to this material.