In this study, the thermoluminescence characteristics of naturally occurring salt (NaCl) were assessed for the development of a radiation dosimeter. For this purpose, mined crystalline samples of salt were procured directly from Khewra salt mines in Pakistan. The samples were hand crushed, sieved, and compressed to pellets comparable in size to standard TLD chips, and irradiated to gamma radiation doses in the range of 5 mGy and 5000 mGy. Thermoluminescence (TL) response showed three main peaks in the glow curve around 115–130 °C, 150–170 °C, and 220–240 °C. A linear TL response was observed for the dose range of 5–100 mGy. The TL response became supra-linear for the dose ranges of 100–1000 mGy and 1000–5000 mGy. The T_m-T_stop method was applied to identify the overlapping peaks of the glow curve. Computerized glow curve deconvolution (CGCD) was then employed for the characterization of electron trap parameters such as frequency factor (s), activation energy (E), and the kinetic order (b), using General Order (GO) kinetics. The figure-of-merit (FOM) was found to be 1.08%, 0.94%, 0.77%, and 0.75%, at 500 mGy, 1 Gy, 2 Gy, and 5 Gy, respectively. The TL intensity faded by 20% within the first 24 h after irradiation and finally stabilized after two weeks. In addition, structural, morphological, and elemental analyses, were also performed using various analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the salt crystallizes in a face-centered cubic structure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs indicated that the crystallites are closely packed and cubic-shaped with non-uniform size, and mostly found in the agglomerated form. Similarly, the elemental analysis confirmed the presence of impurities such as Mg, Sr, S, K, O, and Ca, in the samples. The present study concludes that the pellets made from salt samples from Khewra mines have a potential for use as radiation dosimeters.

在这项研究中，评估了天然盐 (NaCl) 的热释光特性，以开发辐射剂量计。为此，开采的盐晶体样品直接从巴基斯坦的 Khewra 盐矿采购。将样品手工粉碎、筛分并压缩成大小与标准 TLD 芯片相当的颗粒，并接受 5 mGy 和 5000 mGy 范围内的伽马辐射剂量。热释光 (TL) 响应在 115–130 °C、150–170 °C 和 220–240 °C 附近的辉光曲线中显示三个主要峰。在 5–100 mGy 的剂量范围内观察到线性 TL 反应。对于 100-1000 mGy 和 1000-5000 mGy 的剂量范围，TL 响应变得超线性。T _m -T_停止方法用于识别辉光曲线的重叠峰。然后使用计算机辉光曲线解卷积 (CGCD) 来表征电子陷阱参数，例如频率因子 (s)、活化能 (E) 和动力学顺序 (b)，使用通用顺序 (GO) 动力学。在 500 mGy、1 Gy、2 Gy 和 5 Gy 下，品质因数 (FOM) 分别为 1.08%、0.94%、0.77% 和 0.75%。TL 强度在照射后的前 24 小时内下降 20%，并在两周后最终稳定。此外，还使用各种分析技术进行了结构、形态和元素分析。X 射线衍射 (XRD) 显示盐以面心立方结构结晶。扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 显微照片表明，微晶紧密堆积且呈立方体状，尺寸不均匀，并且大多以团聚形式存在。同样，元素分析证实样品中存在杂质，如 Mg、Sr、S、K、O 和 Ca。本研究得出的结论是，由 Khewra 矿的盐样品制成的颗粒具有用作辐射剂量计的潜力。