Investigation on dose response and fading behavior of ammonium tartrate-polyethylene solid state ESR dosimeters

The results of the experimental investigation presented in this paper show that the solid state ESR dosimeters based on ammonium tartrate realized at the University of Palermo have dose response characteristics that render them suitable for application in ⁶⁰ Co radiotherapy, for doses higher than about 1 Gy. The main drawback up to now is a certain instability of the ESR signal, even at laboratory conditions, that calls for further investigation. Other studies are underway to investigate the dependence of the response of these dosimeters on photon energy and the response to charged particle beams. The overall accuracy in the evaluation of dose is estimated to be between 4.5 % and 7 %, depending on dose range, provided measurements are carried out always one day after irradiation to avoid any fading contribution to the uncertainty, and more than one dosimeter is used, especially in the low dose range