World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 2017, 7, 274-283 http://www.scirp.org/journal/wjnst ISSN Online: 2161-6809 ISSN Print: 2161-6795 DOI: 10.4236/wjnst.2017.74021 Sep. 20, 2017 274 World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology Activation Energy of Modified Peak Shape Equations Hugo A. Borbón-Nuñez 1* , Claudio Furetta 2 1 CONACYT-Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, UNAM, Ensenada B.C., Mexico 2 Retired from Physics Department of Rome University, Rome, Italy Abstract The aim of this paper is to give some simplified expressions related to the peak shape method. The modified equations have been used to calculate the activation energy (E) of commercial thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD), as well as of ZnO thermoluminescent material produced in laboratory; the values so determined have been compared to the values obtained using the classical expressions of the peak shape method. The modified equations proposed are as a function of peak shape parameters or the peak temperature at the maxi- mum. This expression could be useful to obtain approximated E values in the case of complex glow curves as well, when the peaks are not well resolved but the peak temperature at the maximum may be easily determined. Keywords Thermoluminescence, Geometrical Parameters, Activation Energy, Peak-Shape Method 1. Introduction Luminescence is defined as the emission of light from some solids commonly called phosphors. This emission is the release of energy stored within the solid through some type of prior excitation of the solid electronic system, i.e. by visi- ble, infrared (IR) or ultra violet (UV) light and ionizing radiation [1] [2]. The wavelength of the emitted light is a characteristic of the luminescent material [2]. The ability to store the radiation energy is important in luminescence dosimetry and is generally associated with the presence of activators (i.e. impurity atoms and structural defects) which act as trapping levels for the free electrons gener- ated by excitation [1] [3]. The luminescence effect can be used in solid state dosimetry for measurement How to cite this paper: Borbón-Nuñez, H.A. and Furetta, C. (2017) Activation Energy of Modified Peak Shape Equations. World Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 7, 274-283. https://doi.org/10.4236/wjnst.2017.74021 Received: July 4, 2017 Accepted: September 17, 2017 Published: September 20, 2017 Copyright © 2017 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access