Neutron detection via thermoluminescence of Tb3+doped Li2O-Al2O3-B2O3 glasses

We fabricated Tb3+doped Li2O-Al2O3-B2O3 glasses using 6Li or nLi and 10B or 11B (6Li-10B glass, 6Li-11B glass, nLi-10B glass, and nLi-11B glass) to develop a new thermoluminescent (TL) material for neutron detection and investigated the TL properties of these glasses after X-ray, He ion, and neutron irradiation. TL glow peaks were observed at 350 and 550 K after X-ray irradiation, at 390 and 550 K after He ion irradiation, and at 400 and 600 K after neutron irradiation. The TL intensities around 400 K for 6Li-10B glass, 6Li-11B glass, and nLi-10B glass after neutron irradiation were higher than that of nLi-11B glass, suggesting that the particles generated in 6Li(n, t)4He and 10B(n, α)7Li reactions efficiently induce TL. We observed neutron-induced TL in the range 1 × 107-5 × 108 neutrons cm-2, and the detectable minimum thermal neutron fluence of this glass was estimated to be approximately 4 × 106 neutrons cm-2.