A low cost TL–OSL reader dedicated to high temperature studies

In some applications, luminescence dating needs performing studies above 550 °C and conventional or commercial instruments are not always perfectly adapted to this temperature range. We describe here an automated instrument capable of thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence measurements. Main mechanical and digital design is reported showing the technical options leading to both a low cost of fabrication and good high temperature performances. The mechanical design favors simply shaped parts and uses a 3D-CAD software that can drive a numerically controlled milling machine. Besides, electronics is limited to elementary signal conditioning (for photomultiplier and thermocouple) and the more complex functions (as thermal regulation) are performed with softwares running on a standard PC. A fully automated prototype instrument was built using these options. This confirmed the low cost of fabrication and the possibility of measurements up to 800 °C and of withstanding temperatures higher than 600 °C for several minutes.