Specialists in lighting, such as those working with medical imaging devices or scintillators in particle accelerators, are keen on understanding and developing luminescence processes for applications such as 3D x-ray imaging, high-energy particle detection, and electronic data storage. Developing sensitive phosphors requires knowledge of material development and the role of point defects in solids, information often lacking in literature. While doping impurities in inorganic solids can achieve bright fluorescence, creating suitable electron-hole traps is crucial for stimulated luminescence, a fact not commonly emphasized. This book aims to bridge this gap and enlighten readers on phosphor development and luminescence phenomena. It explores the stimulated luminescence properties of three materials, focusing on electronhole trapping defects in BaFBr:Eu x-ray storage phosphor, electron-hole and interstitial-vacancy trapping mechanisms in LiF under irradiation, and unresolved issues in undoped and rare-earth-doped CaSO4 and BaSO4.
Dr Arunachalam Lakshmanan earned his PhD in thermoluminescence dosimetry from Bombay University, India, in 1980 while working at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. He has been a Research Associate at The European Organization for Nuclear Research and an AvH Fellow at the University of Wuppertal, Germany. His first publication appeared in 1974, and he has since published over 150 research papers with a Google h-index of 31. Dr Lakshmanan's pioneering work includes studies on the sensitization and supralinearity of CaSO4:Dy, LET dependence of LiF:Mg,Ti, microdosimetry, Teflon-based TLD reusability, and neutron dosimetry using sulfur activation. He also explored optical absorption, photoluminescence, and photostimulated luminescence, developing new TL phosphors. His review on PL and TL processes in rare-earth-doped CaSO4 highlighted Dy and Tm's roles. Currently, he is a Research Dean at Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai, and has authored a book on luminescence and display phosphors, linking phosphor luminescence to various displays.