Abstract
In the context of thermoluminescence emission, first-order kinetics is defined formally as the case where every electron, having escaped from a trap, recombines with a trapped hole without first being re-trapped. Rather surprisingly, most studies of the kinetic order of thermoluminescence report first order. Two previously recognised conditions leading to pseudo first-order kinetics are discussed, and the likelihood of their occurrence is assessed. A third condition involving the trapping of each electron within the Onsager radius of its geminate trapped hole, and geminate recombination, is described; this will lead to pseudo first-order kinetics, even in the presence of extensive re-trapping, provided the irradiation dose does not exceed approximately 30 Mrad. It is shown that this condition can be expected to arise in many dielectrics.