Evaluation of low energy electron beam dose application by means of a portable optical device

Manuela Reitzig; Martin Winkler; Thomas Härtling; Olaf Röder; Jörg L. Opitz

doi:10.1117/1.OE.53.11.114102

6 November 2014 Evaluation of low energy electron beam dose application by means of a portable optical device

Manuela Reitzig, Martin Winkler, Thomas Härtling, Olaf Röder, Jörg L. Opitz

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 53, Issue 11, 114102 (November 2014). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.53.11.114102

Abstract

We present our recent development concerning the evaluation of a low energy dose application to electron beam responding materials with a simple portable optical device. Electron beam irradiation is a promising option to sterilize sensitive and high performance products or surfaces at a low temperature and without moisture. Especially in the fields of the food industry and medicine, regulations regarding sterility are increasingly tightened. Because of this, a secure proof for electron-beam-assisted sterilization is required. However, no nondestructive and in situ method exists up until now. Our approach to provide a secure proof of sterilization is to place a suitable marker material based on rare-earth-doped phosphors inside or on the top of the packaging material of the respective product. Upon electron irradiation the marker material changes its luminescence properties as a function of the applied energy dose. We verified the energy dependence by means of time-resolved measurements of the luminescence decay of an upconversion phosphor with a portable optical device. In our experimental realization, short laser pulses in the near-infrared range are triggered by a microcontrol unit (MCU) and excite the marker material. The light emitted by the marker is collected in the range between 400 and 1100 nm via a silicon photodiode, processed by the MCU, and analyzed in a Labview program via a single-exponential fit. As a main result, we observe an increasing reduction of the luminescence lifetime with higher dose applications.

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Manuela Reitzig, Martin Winkler, Thomas Härtling, Olaf Röder, and Jörg L. Opitz "Evaluation of low energy electron beam dose application by means of a portable optical device," Optical Engineering 53(11), 114102 (6 November 2014). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.53.11.114102

Published: 6 November 2014

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