Method and apparatus for reading thermoluminescent phosphors

An apparatus and method for rapidly reading thermoluminescent phosphors to determine the amount of luminescent energy stored therein. The stored luminescent energy is interpreted as a measure of the total exposure of the thermoluminescent phosphor to ionizing radiation. The thermoluminescent phosphor reading apparatus of Figure 1 uses a laser 10 to generate a laser beam 16. The laser beam power level is monitored by a laser power detector 20 and controlled to maintain the power level nearly constant. A shutter 26 or other laser beam interrupting means can be used to control exposure of the thermoluminescent phosphor to the laser beam. The laser beam is equalized such as by using an optical equalizer 31 so that the laser beam has an approximately uniform power density across the beam. The heated thermoluminescent phosphor emits a visible or otherwise detectable luminescent emission which is measured by an emission detector 45 and used as an indication of the radiation exposure of the thermoluminescent phosphors. Also disclosed are preferred signal processing 62 and control circuits 70, 75.