A1 Journal article (refereed)
Properties of Gd-Doped Sol-Gel Silica Glass Radioluminescence under Electron Beams (2022)

Söderström, D., Timonen, O., Kettunen, H., Kronholm, R., El Hamzaoui, H., Capoen, B., Ouerdane, Y., Morana, A., Javanainen, A., Bouwmans, G., Bouazaoui, M., & Girard, S. (2022). Properties of Gd-Doped Sol-Gel Silica Glass Radioluminescence under Electron Beams. Sensors, 22(23), Article 9248. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22239248

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Söderström, Daniel; Timonen, Oskari; Kettunen, Heikki; Kronholm, Risto; El Hamzaoui, Hicham; Capoen, Bruno; Ouerdane, Youcef; Morana, Adriana; Javanainen, Arto; Bouwmans, Géraud; et al.

Journal or series: Sensors

eISSN: 1424-8220

Publication year: 2022

Publication date: 28/11/2022

Volume: 22

Issue number: 23

Article number: 9248

Publisher: MDPI

Publication country: Switzerland

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s22239248

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/84204

Abstract

The radiation-induced emission (RIE) of Gd3+-doped sol–gel silica glass has been shown to have suitable properties for use in the dosimetry of beams of ionizing radiation in applications such as radiotherapy. Linear electron accelerators are commonly used as clinical radiotherapy beams, and in this paper, the RIE properties were investigated under electron irradiation. A monochromator setup was used to investigate the light properties in selected narrow wavelength regions, and a spectrometer setup was used to measure the optical emission spectra in various test configurations. The RIE output as a function of depth in acrylic was measured and compared with a reference dosimeter system for various electron energies, since the dose–depth measuring abilities of dosimeters in radiotherapy is of key interest. The intensity of the main radiation-induced luminescence (RIL) of the Gd3+-ions at 314 nm was found to well represent the dose as a function of depth, and was possible to separate from the Cherenkov light that was also induced in the measurement setup. After an initial suppression of the luminescence following the electron bunch, which is ascribed to a transient radiation-induced attenuation from self-trapped excitons (STEX), the 314 nm component was found to have a decay time of approximately 1.3 ms. An additional luminescence was also observed in the region 400 nm to 600 nm originating from the decay of the STEX centers, likely exhibiting an increasing luminescence with a dose history in the tested sample.

Keywords: dosimeters; optical fibres; attenuation; luminescence

Free keywords: dosimetry; electron accelerator; optical fiber; point dosimeter; pulsed electron beam; radiation-induced attenuation; radiation-induced luminescence

Contributing organizations

Related projects

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2022

JUFO rating: 1