Response of thermoluminescent dosimeters to photons simulated with the Monte Carlo method

Abstract

Personal monitors composed of thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) made of natural fluorite (CaF2:NaCl) and lithium fluoride (Harshaw TLD-100) were exposed to gamma and X rays of different qualities. The GEANT4 radiation transport Monte Carlo toolkit was employed to calculate the energy depth deposition profile in the TLDs. X-ray spectra of the ISO/4037-1 narrow-spectrum series, with peak voltage (kVp) values in the range 20-300 kV, were obtained by simulating a X-ray Philips MG-450 tube associated with the recommended filters. A realistic photon distribution of a 60Co radiotherapy source was taken from results of Monte Carlo simulations found in the literature. Comparison between simulated and experimental results revealed that the attenuation of emitted light in the readout process of the fluorite dosimeter must be taken into account, while this effect is negligible for lithium fluoride. Differences between results obtained by heating the dosimeter from the irradiated side and from the opposite side allowed the determination of the light attenuation coefficient for CaF2:NaCl (mass proportion 60:40) as 2.2 mm-1.