Studies of aluminium nitride ceramics for application in UV dosimetry

The study is reported of the ceramic material AlN-Y2O3 as a potential luminescence dosemeter for the detection of UV radiation. Both the thermoluminescence and the optically stimulated luminescence properties of the material have been studied after exposure to UV radiation and compared with those of the widely used dosemeter material Al2O3:C. It has been shown that AlN-Y2O3 ceramics exhibit three orders of magnitude higher sensitivity to UV radiation than does Al2O3,:C over a broad spectral region. The thermoluminescence from AlN-Y2O3 is characterised by linear dose dependence over a wide range. The fading characteristics of the UV-induced thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence signals with storage time at room temperature were found to be a drawback, but still lower than those induced after exposure to ionising radiation.