Studies of defect states and kinetic parameters of car windscreen for thermoluminescence retrospective dosimetry

In case of any natural disasters or technical failures of nuclear facilities, the surrounding media including human beings may receive unexpected radiation exposures. In such a situation, there is no viable way to know how much radiation dose is received by human beings. Realizing that motorized vehicles are parked at fixed but increasing distances within the nuclear installation and industrial environment, this study investigates the kinetic parameters of readily available car windscreens which form the basis to be employed in post-accident dose reconstruction or for retrospective dosimetry. To understand the luminescence features of this crystalline media, a convenient thermoluminescence (TL) technique has been employed. Several well-defined theoretical models and methods were employed to calculate the kinetic parameters including the order of kinetics (b), activation energy (E) or trap depth, frequency factor (s) or escape probability and trap lifetime (tau), by analyzing the glow curves of the irradiated samples. The analysed trapping parameters indicate that the Toyota (E = 0.75-1.31 eV, s = 3.0E+6 - 3.7E+9 (s(-1)), tau = 6.9E+5 - 1.3E+14 s) and Honda (E = 0.95-1.68 eV, s = 2.1E+10 - 4.1E+13 (s(-1)), tau = 2.2E+9 - 3.1E+20 s) windscreen offer promising features for conventional TL dosimetry applications, while the obtained longer lifetime (tau = 6.8E+10 - 8.6E+29 s) or higher activation energy (E = 1.23-2.15 eV) for Proton brand windscreen indicates better stability or slow fading of the material, thus suitable for retrospective TL dosimetry. In addition, by assessing the area of deconvoluted micro-Raman spectra of windshield glasses in high-frequency regions, it has been observed the phenomenon of dose-dependent structural alterations and internal annealing of defects. This pattern is also consistent with those cyclical pattern observed in the intensity ratio of defect and graphite modes in the studies of carbon-rich media. Such common phenomena indicate the possibility of using the Raman microspectmscopy as a probe of radiation damage in silica-based media.

Automated summary

This study investigates the kinetic parameters of car windscreens and their potential use in dose reconstruction or retrospective dosimetry. The results show that Toyota and Honda windscreen have promising features for conventional dosimetry applications, while Proton windscreen is suitable for retrospective dosimetry. Additionally, Raman microspectroscopy can be used as a probe of radiation damage in silica-based media.