Previous books dealing with thermoluminescence have tended to treat only specialist aspects of its usage – e.g., dating, dosimetry, geology or analysis of glow-curves. This is a reflection of the way in which thermoluminescence research has developed over the last decade; its study has become fragmented, each fragment being tailored to suit only the discipline to which it is being applied. As a result, the various disciplines have become somewhat insular, the advances in one arena not necessarily being transmitted to another. (For instance, one might find the occasional inappropiate application of different methods of analysis of glow-curves to problems associated with, say, geology or archaeology; or a lack of appreciation of the solid-state defect reactions which can take place in phosphors when thermoluminescence is applied to measure radiation dose.)

These facts do not appear to have imposed a limit on the rate of publication of papers dealing with thermoluminescence; several hundred articles on this topic appear each year. Considering this, perhaps the time is now appropriate for a pause in the accelerated use of thermoluminescence in order to reflect upon its capabilities and to become more aware of its limitations.

This book is intended as a step towards this goal, and towards the unification of the insular approaches by presenting the topic of thermoluminescence as a single subject. Extensive referencing of published works was felt to be an important requirement and as a result over 1000 references are listed.