Persistent luminescence of ZrO2:Tb3+ after beta particle irradiation for dosimetry applications

In this work, we report the Persistent Luminescence (PLUM) of ZrO2:Tb3+ samples synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction and its performance in radiation dosimetry. X-ray diffraction shows the formation of the monoclinic phase of ZrO2 and the doping of the samples with Tb3+ ions and a mixture of Tb2O3. The ZrO2:Tb3+ 1% sample was exposed to beta particle irradiation in a dose range from 0.5 to 256 Gy. Immediately after removing the beta particle source, the PLUM response was measured for 600 s. The integrated area of the PLUM decay curves shows a sublinear dependence in the dose range from 0.5 to 64 Gy. The TL glow curve of the ZrO2:Tb3+ 1% sample showed two maxima at 79 and 150 °C after beta particle irradiation, suggesting that the trapping states associated with the maximum at 79 °C are responsible for the PLUM at room temperature. Computational deconvolution showed that the maximum at 79 °C consisted of two traps with first-order kinetics. The results suggest that the ZrO2:Tb3+ 1% sample has potential applications as a dosimeter for beta particle irradiation.