Evaluation of the FTIR technique for the linearity assessment of commercial soda-lime glass irradiated with gamma radiation

Abstract

Introduction High dose dosimetry is one of the most important branches of everyday activities related to medical and industrial applications. Nevertheless, the use of materials that respond in a linear manner has advantages over nonlinear materials, since the dose calculation procedure in linear materials relies solely upon direct proportions to the delivered dose. The evaluation techniques are also important to identify the possible linear ranges, and the new Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) technique has been used to this objective. This work aims to investigate the linearity response and its sensitivity, using mainly the FTIR technique. Methods Cubic samples of a soda-lime glass type with composition of Li2O.2B2O3 + 10 mol% of (0.25Li2O + 0.25La2O3 + TiO2) were irradiated with doses from 1 kGy to 12 kGy, using a 60Co Gamma-Cell system 220. The response was evaluated using the FTIR technique. Results The sensitivity and linearity characteristics were evaluated with the absorbed profi les of the multivariate calibration Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR), with its loadings performing a linear regression; from the slope value, the sensitivity of the glass at the absorbed dose range was obtained. The PLSR technique showed, on the range of 1-12 kGy, that the soda-lime glass type presents linearity value of 0.8532 using just three components. The results of the linearity test were obtained for the FTIR technique. Conclusions The FTIR technique was applied to assess the linear behavior based of the glass spectrum, showing its usefulness to identify possible linear dose regions and also the overall sensitivity of the glass samples to dose. Therefore, the results obtained indicate a good linear response, showing therefore a potential use of this glass-soda lime type for radiation dosimetry in high doses.