TL and OSL analysis of natural orange calcite crystal

Abstract

The study presents TL and OSL characterization of orange calcite. It is known that calcite exhibits TL however its OSL emission is unwell studied. The morphological characterization was done by means of X-rays diffraction (XRD) technique and it was confirmed that the sample is a pure calcium carbonate. Total and traces elements were determined using Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) technique and several impurities were found as P (53070 mg/kg), S (877 mg/kg), K (442.1 mg/kg), Ca (118290 mg/kg), Fe (330.4 mg/kg), Cr (101.19 mg/kg), and Ni (115.01 mg/kg), also some trace impurities, as Cu (1.96 mg/kg) and Zn (1.30 mg/kg), Mn (57.21 mg/kg) were determined and they may have important role in the luminescent emission. Sample in powder form was irradiated with crescent doses of beta particles, in an interval of 5–25 Gy and showed TL peaks at approximately 93, 125, 162, 189 and 227 °C. An OSL response was verified and can be fitted using 3 components with decay constant values of 2.3, 10.0 and 77.4 s.

Keywords

• orange calcite
• OSL dosimetry
• TL dosimetry
• x-ray diffraction