Characteristics of OSL dosimeters

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (hereafter OSL) dosimeter system is the method for radiation dose measurements by detecting light emitted when the luminescence material, which is exposed to radiation, is stimulated with visible light. Recently, this system has been developed as an advanced method for personal radiation dosimetry and has already been adopted in some countries such as U.S.A., Canada and others. Some basic characteristics (linearity for dose, energy response, angular dependence, dose evaluation performance on mixed irradiation field, fading and so on) required for the practical application of the {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} OSL dosimeter were investigated. It is shown that the OSL dosimeter has excellent good enough to performance for the measurement of {gamma}, X and {beta} doses and is good enough for practical use as personal dosimeter. This paper describes the basic characteristics of the OSL dosimeter obtained by the investigation. (author)