title: EPR/alanine pellets with low Gd content for neutron dosimetry.
abstract: This paper reports on results obtained by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements and Monte Carlo (MC) simulation on a blend of alanine added with low content of gadolinium oxide (5 % by weight) to improve the sensitivity to thermal neutron without excessively affecting tissue equivalence. The sensitivity is enhanced by this doping procedure of more an order of magnitude. The results are compared with those obtained with the addition of boric acid (50 % by weight) where boron is in its natural isotopic composition in order to produce low-cost EPR dosemeters. The gadolinium addition influences neutron sensitivity more than the boron addition. The presence of additives does not substantially change the fading of the EPR signal induced by neutrons. The MC simulations agree the experimental results in case of gadolinium addition.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Viale delle Scienze, Ed.18, I-90128 Palermo, Italy Gruppo V, INFN, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy maurizio.marrale@unipa.it.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marrale
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Viale delle Scienze, Ed.18, I-90128 Palermo, Italy Gruppo V, INFN, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brai
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Viale delle Scienze, Ed.18, I-90128 Palermo, Italy Gruppo V, INFN, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Viale delle Scienze, Ed.18, I-90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panzeca
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Viale delle Scienze, Ed.18, I-90128 Palermo, Italy Gruppo V, INFN, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carlino
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Viale delle Scienze, Ed.18, I-90128 Palermo, Italy Gruppo V, INFN, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tranchina
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Energia, Ingegneria dell'Informazione e Modelli Matematici, Viale delle Scienze, Ed.6, I-90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tomarchio
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Energia, Ingegneria dell'Informazione e Modelli Matematici, Viale delle Scienze, Ed.6, I-90128 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parlato
authors.affiliation: Università di Pavia e INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buttafava
authors.affiliation: Università di Pavia e INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dondi
authors.affiliation: Università di Pavia e INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zeffiro
mesh_terms: D000409:Alanine / Q000737:chemistry*; D001888:Boric Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000737:chemistry*; D007554:Isotopes; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D009502:Neutrons; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001888:Boric Acids; D007554:Isotopes; C030581:gadolinium oxide; D005682:Gadolinium; D000409:Alanine; C032688:boric acid