Neutron-induced thermoluminescence of Dy3+-doped B2O3–Na2O–CaO–P2O5 glasses

Thermoluminescence (TL) materials based on Dy3+-doped B2O3–Na2O–CaO–P2O5 glasses have been developed for neutron detection. After X-ray irradiation, the TL glow peaks were observed at 360 K, and the TL intensities of the 10B- and 11B-enriched samples were similar. After neutron irradiation, a significant difference in the TL intensities was observed between the 10B- and 11B-enriched samples, which indicates that γ-rays and high-energy particles in the 10B (n, α)7Li reaction efficiently induced TL. The TL intensities derived from the 10B (n, α)7Li reaction linearly increased with neutron fluence of 106–1011 neutrons cm−2. Therefore, TL glass materials were successfully developed for neutron detection. •High-energy particles in the 10B (n, α)7Li reaction induced thermoluminescence.•The glasses show good linearity between the neutron fluence and TL intensity.•The glasses are expected to be applied in TL dosimetry for thermal neutrons.