Standard Practice for Application of CaF₂(Mn) Thermoluminescence Dosimeters in Mixed Neutron-Photon Environments

1.1 This practice describes a procedure for measuring gamma-ray absorbed dose in CaF2(Mn) thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) exposed to mixed neutron-photon environments during irradiation of materials and devices. The practice has broad application, but is primarily intended for use in the radiation-hardness testing of electronics. The practice is applicable to the measurement of absorbed dose from gamma radiation present in fields used for neutron testing.

1.2 This practice describes a procedure for correcting for the neutron response of a CaF2(Mn) TLD. The neutron response may be subtracted from the total response to give the gamma-ray response. In fields with a large neutron contribution to the total response, this procedure may result in large uncertainties.

1.3 More precise experimental techniques may be applied if the uncertainty derived from this practice is larger than the user can accept. These techniques are not discussed here. The references in Section 8 describe some of these techniques.

1.4 This practice does not discuss effects on the TLD reading of neutron interactions with material surrounding the TLD to ensure charged particle equilibrium. These effects depend on the surrounding material and its thickness, and on the neutron spectrum (1).