Limitation of peak fitting and peak shape methods for determination of activation energy of thermoluminescence glow peaks

This paper shows the limitation of general order peak fitting and peak shap e methods for determining the activation energy of the thermoluminescence g low peaks in the cases in which retrapping probability is much higher than the recombination probability and the traps are filled up to near saturatio n level. Right values can be obtained when the trap occupancy is reduced by using small doses or by post-irradiation partial bleaching. This limitatio n in the application of these methods has not been indicated earlier. In vi ew of the unknown nature of kinetics in the experimental samples, it is rec ommended that these methods of activation energy determination should be ap plied only at doses well below the saturation dose. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.