1. Study on the reusability of fluorescent nuclear track detectors using optical bleaching
- Author
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Abdul Muneem, Junya Yoshida, Hiroyuki Ekawa, Masahiro Hino, Katsuya Hirota, Go Ichikawa, Ayumi Kasagi, Masaaki Kitaguchi, Satoshi Kodaira, Kenji Mishima, Jameel-Un Nabi, Manami Nakagawa, Michio Sakashita, Norihito Saito, Takehiko R. Saito, Satoshi Wada, and Nakahiro Yasuda
- Subjects
Physics - Instrumentation and Detectors ,Radiation ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) ,Instrumentation - Abstract
Fluorescent nuclear track detectors (FNTDs) based on Al${_2}$O${_3}$:C,Mg crystals are luminescent detectors that can be used for dosimetry and detection of charged particles and neutrons. These detectors can be utilised for imaging applications where a reasonably high track density, approximately of the order of 1 $\times$ $10^4$ tracks in an area of 100 $\times$ 100 $\mu$m$^2$, is required. To investigate the reusability of FNTDs for imaging applications, we present an approach to perform optical bleaching under the required track density conditions. The reusability was assessed through seven irradiation-bleaching cycles. For the irradiation, the studied FNTD was exposed to alpha-particles from an $^{241}$Am radioactive source. The optical bleaching was performed by means of ultraviolet laser light with a wavelength of 355 nm. Three dedicated regions on a single FNTD with different accumulated track densities and bleaching conditions were investigated. After every irradiation-bleaching cycle, signal-to-noise ratio was calculated to evaluate FNTD performance. It is concluded that FNTDs can be reused at least seven times for applications where accumulation of a high track density is required.
- Published
- 2022
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