Inherent statistics of glow curves from small samples and single grains

For measurement techniques, it is usually important to know the accuracy and detection limits. This issue is particularly important in thermoluminescence when studying either low doses or small samples, especially single grains. Our focus herein is not on instrumental measurement errors but instead on the inherent noise or uncertainty in the thermoluminescence process. To this end, we study a simple one–center, one–active-trap model that produces a first–order glow curve. A master equation is developed for the statistical noise and probability distributions for trap population during both irradiation and heating. In addition to quantifying the probability distributions, governing equations are developed for both the mean and the standard deviation of trap population during irradiation and heating.