Can Ammonium Tartrate Replace Alanine in EPR Radiation Dosimetry?

Abstract

EPR, which is characterized by the non-destructive evaluation of radiation-induced radicals, is one of the most recent and accurate techniques for radiation dose measurements. Alanine has been considered the reference EPR dosimeter for several applications over decades due to its consistent response and the stability of its radiation-induced radicals. Recently, ammonium tartrate was proposed as a promising EPR dosimeter, as it possesses several prominent dosimetric features. In this work, ammonium tartrate is investigated as a possible alternative to alanine. The studied properties include sensitivity to different radiation doses, energy dependence, detection limit, and the stability of the induced radicals. Ammonium tartrate’s responses to Cs-137 gamma radiation were studied and compared with those of alanine over two ranges: the first ranged from 47 to 2500 Gy, and the second ranged from 1.46 to 87.8 Gy. The uncertainties associated with the evaluated radiation doses using EPR/the ammonium tartrate dosimetry system were evaluated and are presented in detail.

Keywords

• radiation dosimetry
• alanine
• ESR
• EPR
• ammonium tartrate