Phosphors have been used for radiation detection before, but only for non-ionizing ra- diation. In fact, many phosphors are designed to be radiation-resistant so they can be used long-term and in harsh environments unaffected. Furthermore, many of the phosphors used in radiation environments are subjected to ionizing radiation. Our goal, however, is to find a material that changes permanently by non-ionizing radiation and that can be used as a record for radiation exposure. Ideally the material will be sensitive to a wide range of flu- ences as well as selective to different types and doses of radiation exposure. To determine if radiation can damage phosphors, we systematically exposed several materials to x-rays, alpha particles, protons, and neutrons. We expect radiation to cause displacement dam- age and change the structure of the material. Since phosphor luminescence intensity and lifetime are mainly governed by the arrangement of luminescent centers in the host lattice and the local crystal environment of each luminescence center, the optical properties can be used to detect these structural changes. The results of these experiments provide insight into the possible mechanisms of damage and instruct how to adjust our approach to developing a material with the desired interactions with radiation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03232015-135343 |
| Date | 09 April 2015 |
| Creators | Gollub, Sarah Louise |
| Contributors | Richard Haglund, Bridget Rogers, Ronald Schrimpf, Robert Weller, Greg Walker |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03232015-135343/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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