Topic 1

Topic 4: Interaction of Radiation with matter

1.1 Introduction
In this section we interested in how far a charged particle or radiation will travel in a
medium and how much energy it deposits along its path. A loss of intensity of a particle
transversing matter is a measure of energy deposited.
Radiations are classified as Charged and Neutral.
Charged Particles: electrons, muons, pions, protons, alphas, heavy ions, etc. Medical
physics and radiation safety scientists encounter these except, perhaps, muons. There was
a recent claim that muons also may be used in cancer and AIDS cures.
Neutral Radiations: neutrons, neutrinos and photons (electromagnetic radiations).
Neutrinos are relevant only if you are a particle physicist dealing with neutrino physics.

There is a fundamental difference in the energy loss mechanisms of electrically charged

particles in comparison to that of neutral radiations. Charged particles undergo continuous
collisions along their paths and lose energy in a continuous way. Neutral radiations un-
dergo random collisions in a discontinuous manner and their energy loss is not continuous.

Thus, for charged particles, we can specify energy loss per distance traveled and range,
i.e., the distance they travel in a medium. Equivalently, for neutral radiations, we can
specify loss of intensity per unit distance traveled. It is represented by an attenuation coef-
ficient, a measure of the medium’s effectiveness to remove radiations from the main beam
of particles.

NB: all these parameters (energy loss, range or attenuation coefficient) are spe-
cific to the type of radiation and its energy and medium properties.

1
 Charged particles can be further subdivided into heavy and light particles. Energy loss
mechanisms of heavy particles are fairly simple for most practical energies. As they move,
they lose energy, undergoing elastic and inelastic collisions with atoms and molecules in
the medium and ionizing them. For our purposes, charged particles other than electrons
are heavy ones.

1.2 Stopping Power

Stopping powers are widely used in radiation dosimetry, but they are rarely measured and
must be calculated from theory. For electrons and positrons the Bethe theory is used to
calculate stopping powers.

The linear stopping power is defined as the expectation value of the rate of energy loss
per unit path length (dE/dx) of the charged particle. The mass stopping power is defined
as the linear stopping power divided by the density of the absorbing medium.
Division by the density of the absorbing medium almost eliminates the dependence of
the mass stopping power on mass density, except for the density effect discussed further
below. Typical units for the linear and mass stopping powers are MeV /cm and MeV cm2 /g,
respectively.

1.3 The Bethe Bloche Formula

The energy loss of a high-energy charged particle in matter due to its interactions with the
electrons present in the matter is given by the Bethe-Bloch equation. It describes ionization
loss and ranges of heavy charged particles for speeds up to about v = 0.99c. The equation
is

Z2 1 2me c2 β 2 γ 2 Tmax
   
dE Znucl 2 2 δ (β )
− =ρ (0.307MeV /cm /g) 2 ln −β − (1.3.1)
dx Ar β 2 I2 2

where
dE
dx is energy loss of particle per unit length
ρ is the density of the material
Znucl = dimensionless charge of the nuclei
Z is charge of the particle divided by the proton charge
Ar is relative atomic weight
I = mean excitation energy in eV. Parameter usually determined experimentally. It is typ-

2
ically around (10 eV times Znucl )
Tmax = maximum energy transfer to the electron. For all incoming particles except the
electron itself this is to a good approximation given by ≈ 2me c2 β 2 γ 2 . For electrons Tmax
is the energy of the incoming electron.
c = velocity of light
β = vc
γ=√1
1−β 2
δ β = density-dependent term that attenuates the logarithmic rise of the cross section at
very high energy.
The negative sign in the Bethe equation simply indicates that particles loss energy as
they travel increasing distances.
The right hand side of equation 1.3.1 depends only on the atomic number and mass
number. The density, which changes drastically with changes in the physical characterist-
ics of media (gas, liquid or solid) does not appear. Thus, the mass stopping power varies
smoothly for materials across the periodic table as shown in figure 1.3.1, and it is inde-
pendent of temperature, pressure or other extraneous conditions.
The stopping power is very high for low β and thus at low energies. For increas-
ing speeds, the stopping power decreases, reaching a shallow minimum at about β =
0.95(β γ 3) and becomes nearly constant for higher energies. From this curve, we can
calculate the energy loss for all particles of arbitrary speeds and corresponding momenta,
since the momentum of a particle is p = mβ γ in energy/c units.
For example, at minimum stopping power, particles lose the least amount of energy.
Minimum stopping power corresponds to the energy or momenta where the charged particles
cause minimum ionization.

1.4 Interaction of Photons and electrons with matter

The interactions of photons and electrons with matter are intertwined. The interaction
of photons with matter is associated with the release of electrons and the generation of
electron-positron pairs. The interaction of electrons with matter is of two types. Similar
to other charged particles, they undergo continuous slowing down due to collisions with
atomic electrons in material media. In addition, they also lose energy by emitting radiation,
which in turn propagates in its characteristic ways.
We begin with photon interactions in a medium. First and foremost, we recognize
that it is a statistical process in a real sense. Charged particles pass through a medium by
leaving ionization trails along the path.
For all practical purposes, it can be treated as a continuous deterministic process though,

3
Figure 1.3.1: Energy loss of particles as a function of the particle energy in different ma-
terials

4
at a very microscopic level, it is governed by quantum mechanical statistical phenomena.
On the other hand, a photon may travel an indeterminate distance without any interac-
tion. When it interacts, it is removed from the beam, resulting in a loss of intensity of the
beam.
We thus refer to the attenuation of the intensity of a photon beam due to interactions
within a medium, rather than energy loss. The probability that a photon interacts in a
length interval dx of a medium is independent of the distance it traveled before arriving at
the region of interest. This feature suggests an exponential decrease of the photon beam
intensity. We may note the similarity with radioactive decay.
The decay probability is independent of the past history of a radioactive atom. We
cannot talk about a range of distance for photons as we do for charged particle propagation.

Radiation Length X0

Radiation length X0 is the distance in a medium at which the photon intensity reduces to
1/e(≈ 37%) of its initial value i.e I(X0 ) = Ie0 = 0.37I0 or It is the distance over which an
electron or a high energy photon loses all but 1/e of its energy through bremsstrahlung or
the pair production process. It can be calculated through equation 1.4.1.

716A
X0 =   [Link]−2 (1.4.1)
Z(Z + 1)ln 287
√
Z

The exponential decrease of intensity suggests that the relation for intensity at any arbitrary
distance x in the medium
I(X0 ) = I0 e−µx (1.4.2)

where µ = 1/X0 , a proportionality constant, known as the attenuation coefficient, is

a property of the medium. Clearly, the radiation length has dimensions of length and the
attenuation coefficient is of inverse length.
As is common practice, we may define the mass attenuation coefficient µρ and the
corresponding radiation length X0 in units of gcm−2 and cm2 g−1 respectively.
We define the mass attenuation coefficient µρ as µρ = µ/ρ. In these units

I(ρx) = I0 e−µρ .ρx (1.4.3)

and ρx is the medium thickness in units of g/cm2 . The power of the beam, after it traverses
a distance of l/X0 , is given by
l
P(l) = P(0)e− x (1.4.4)

where P(0) is the input power and P(l) is the power after the radiation propagates through

5
a distance l.

1.5 Photon Interaction

Interaction mechanisms of photons, while being monotonous functions of the atomic num-
ber of the medium they move in, vary with photon energy and atomic number in a distinct
way. This feature is exploited to our advantage for each specific application we are inter-
ested in. We list the photon interactions:

1.5.1 Rayleigh scattering:

This is elastic scattering of photons off atoms or molecules in the medium. It is coherent
scattering, where the atom recoils. It involves neither excitation nor ionization of the atom.
This process results in a very small loss of the energy of the photon; it is important at
very low photon energies and contributes very little to photon energy loss and thus is of
little interest in our discussion.

1.5.2 Photoelectric effect

A photon is absorbed and an electron is set free from an atom or a molecule. The atom is
ionized. We start with an electron bound to an atom or molecule in a material medium and
a photon. The interaction results in a free moving electron and no photon. This process
effectively removes photons from the beam.
The probability for this process increases rapidly with the atomic number of the in-
teracting medium (approximately proportional to Z 4 ). Also, it plays a significant role for
photons of up to about a few hundred keV energy.
We recognize that high Z materials such as lead (Z=82) are preferred shielding materi-
als to remove photons and we can understand the use of thin (but heavy) lead sheets in our
dentist’s office as we are X-rayed.

1.5.3 Compton scattering

This phenomenon is elastic scattering of a photon off a free electron. It is incoherent
scattering, where an electron leaves the atom and the atom is ionized.
There is still a photon after the interaction, albeit of reduced energy. As one can ima-
gine, successive Compton collisions reduce the photons to lower energies where the pho-
toelectric effect dominates and ultimately photons are lost.
The Compton process varies roughly proportionally to the atomic number (Z) of the
medium. Compton scattering is described as the scattering of a photon off a free electron

6
in a medium. As a material with elements of atomic number Z has Z electrons, the pro-
portionality of Compton scattering to Z is easily understood. This process is dominant for
photons of several hundreds of keV to about a few MeV energies.

1.5.4 Pair production

A photon is converted into an electron and a positron pair. All of the photon’s energy is
shared by the particle-antiparticle pair and the recoil electron or the nucleus, participating
in the interaction.
The photon must have a minimum energy of 1.022 MeV (twice the mass of an electron)
to produce particle-antiparticle pairs. This process becomes the dominant mechanism of
energy loss of photons for energies greater than about 10 MeV.
Also, it varies as Z 2 . Thus, higher photon energies and media of heavy materials means
a higher probability that photons lose their energy by this process and they disappear.
Pair production may have two contributions. One comes from the interactions of
photons with atomic electrons and the second is due to interactions with atomic nuclei.
It is interesting that the nuclear process dominates for high Z materials.

1.5.5 Photo nuclear reactions:

This is the interaction of photons with atomic nuclei. The probability for energy loss by
elastic or inelastic scattering off nuclei is very small. It is not significant enough to be of
concern for the calculation of the energy loss of photons.
However, at energies of several MeV, photons can cause dissociation of atomic nuclei,
causing emission of nuclear particles. The most common among them is a neutron emis-
sion. For all radiation safety and design of nuclear facilities, this process is an important
consideration.

1.6 Electron Interaction

Electrons are light charged particles and they become relativistic at very low energies; they
are minimum ionizing for β γ 3MeV .
While heavy charged particles travel nearly in straight lines, gradually losing energy
to come to rest at a distance well defined as the range of the particle, electrons are easily
deflected from their path. The result is that they follow zig-zag paths extended to long
distances, especially near the end of their journey.
For electrons, energy loss by radiation (known as bremsstrahlung) becomes dominant

7
for energies greater than a critical energy

800
Ec ≈ MeV (1.6.1)
(Z + 1.2)

Note that the constant term (1.2) in the denominator is very important for light nuclei,
such as for hydrogen (Z = 1), while it may be neglected for high Z materials.

800
Ec ≈ MeV ≈ 400MeV
2.2

for hydrogen, Z=1. and

800
Ec ≈ MeV ≈ 10MeV
83.2
for Lead, Z=82.
Thus, electrons radiate readily in high Z media. In lead material, the radiation is sig-
nificant for energies about 10 MeV and higher, while it is not important up to about 400
MeV for a hydrogen medium. This is the reason X-ray machines and other photon beam
facilities employ high Z materials such as lead and tungsten to produce radiation.

1.7 Bremsstrahlung
This radiation is produced when a charged particle traverses a medium. The charged
particles experience an accelerating/decelerating force and the result is radiation. The
cross section for emission of these photons is given by

dσ 10αZ 2 2 γ 5.8Z 2 γ
≈ re ≈ (1.7.1)
dE photon E photon γ − 1 E photon γ − 1

where the fine structure constant is

e2 1
α= =
h̄c 137

The classical electron radius is

e2
α = 2 = 2.813 f m
mc

γ is the Lorentz factor

Ee 1
γ= 2
=
me c 137
From equations above, for a fixed energy, the probability of emitting a bremsstrahlung
photon decreases inversely as the energy of the photon (∝ E1γ ). It varies as the square of

8
the atomic number of the medium.

1.8 Cherenkov Radiation

Cherenkov radiation is emitted when a charged particle traverses a medium with a velocity
greater than that of the speed of light in that medium.
If n is the refractive index of a medium, we know that vlight = nc where c is the speed
of light in a vacuum.
Thus, Cherenkov radiation is emitted if v > vlight = nc or β n > 1. Cherenkov light is
emitted as a cone of angle Θc , relative to the direction of the charged particle. The cone
angle is given by
1/2
m2

1 1
Θc = = 1+ 2 (1.8.1)
nβ n p
1
Since the cosine of an angle is less than or equal to 1, then nβ ≤ 1 or β ≥ 1n . Thus, βmin = 1n
for the emission of Cherenkov radiation.
The corresponding threshold momenta and total energies are: Threshold Momentum:Pmin =
γβ m
Threshold Total Energy: Emin = γm
From these equations we note the following: Lighter particles emit radiations at smaller
energies than heavier ones. Clearly electrons, being the lightest charged particles, emit
radiations at very low energies.

9
Topic 2

Topic 5: Radiation Dosimetry

2.1 Introduction
Radiation measurements and investigations of radiation effects require various specifica-
tions of the radiation field at the point of interest. Radiation dosimetry is defined as the
methods used for quantitative determination of energy deposited in a given medium
by directly or indirectly ionizing radiations.

Anumber of quantities and units have been defined for describing the radiation beam, and
the most commonly used dosimetric quantities and their units are defined below. A sim-
plified discussion of cavity theory, the theory that deals with calculating the response of
a dosimeter in a medium, is also given. While we mostly hear about radiation hazards to
living beings, it can also affect inanimate objects, making transparent ones opaque, struc-
tures brittle and many other conspicuous changes such as color changes. It can induce
permanent or temporary changes in the constitutions of these materials.

There are two international organizations, the International Commission of Radiolo-

gical Protection (ICRP, [Link] and the International Commission on Radi-
ation Units and Measurements (ICRU, [Link] which are concerned with the
quantification of radiation effects on living systems and making recommendations on safe
levels of radiation exposure.
While there is no doubt that the organizations and their committees are committed to
safety to make recommendations of universal validity, their work is very complicated.
Radiation depends on the following factors.

1. Radiation effects are both stochastic and non-stochastic nature.

10
 2. For the same amount of energy deposits and ionization, radiation damages vary with
the type of radiation. For example, heavy charged particles cause more damage than
photons or electrons for the same energy deposits.

3. Different organs respond differently to the same amount of energy deposits. Thus,
radiation effects depend on which organ(s) receive doses.

4. When a source emits more than one species or one single energy radiations, the
effects are cumulative. One has to work with average energies and/or total energies
of emitted radiations.

5. . If a radiation source is ingested by the body, the resulting radiation damage is

estimated by taking into account the physical half-life of the radiation source and
the biological half-life or the time it takes the body to get rid of the radiation. While
it may not be perfect, the international community has done a commendable job in
providing good guidelines for safeguards.

2.2 Terms Used In Radiation Dosimetry

There are a few terms specific to radiation dosimetry that we should be familiar with:

2.2.1 Exposure
This refers to the ability of incident radiation to ionize a medium. To make a quantitative
comparison, for reference standards, the quantity of ionization of an air medium by radi-
ation is used. The unit of exposure is the roentgen. The amount of exposure is said to be
one roentgen if the radiation liberates 2.58 × 10−4C of the electric charge in a kilogram of
air.
In a radiation field, one can estimate exposure by employing an ionization chamber and
measuring the current flow through the chamber. One ampere of current passing through
one kilogram or one milliampere of current through one gram of air medium amounts to a
1 C/kg exposure rate. Cumulative exposure can be measured by charge integrated over the
time of exposure

2.2.2 Fluence.
The number of particles/quanta crossing a unit area. If a particle beam has areal cross
section A, and n is the number of particles traversing the medium, the fluence is

n
Φ= (2.2.1)
A

11
The units of the particle fluence is m−2 . The use of a sphere of cross-sectional area A
expresses in the simplest manner the fact that one considers an area A perpendicular to
the direction of each particle and hence that particle fluence is independent of the incident
angle of the radiation.

The rate of fluence is flux (F) defined as the quotient of Φ by t,

Φ
F= (2.2.2)
t

Its units are m−2 s−1

The energy fluence of a beam of particles is

∑i ni Ei
ΦE = (2.2.3)
A

where ni is the number of particles of energy Ei and the sum is carried over total particles.
The units of energy fluence is J/M 2 .
The rate of energy fluence is the quotient of the energy flux by time ΦE /t with units of
W /m2 or Jm−2 s−1 .

2.2.3 KERMA
Kerma is an acronym for kinetic energy released per unit mass. It is a nonstochastic quant-
ity applicable to indirectly ionizing radiations such as photons and neutrons.
It quantifies the average amount of energy transferred from indirectly ionizing radiation to
directly ionizing radiation without concern as to what happens after this transfer. In the
discussion that follows we will limit ourselves to photons.
The energy of photons is imparted to matter in a two stage process. In the first stage, the
photon radiation transfers energy to the secondary charged particles (electrons) through
various photon interactions (the photoelectric effect, the Compton effect, pair production,
etc.). In the second stage, the charged particle transfers energy to the medium through
atomic excitations and ionizations.
In this context, the kerma is defined as the mean energy transferred from the indirectly
ionizing radiation to charged particles (electrons) in the medium d Ē per unit massdm.

d Ē
K= (2.2.4)
dm

The unit of kerma is joule per kilogram (J/kg). The name for the unit of kerma is the gray
(Gy), where 1 Gy = 1 J/kg.

12
2.2.4 CEMA
CEMA is the acronym for converted energy per unit mass. It is a non-stochastic quantity
applicable to directly ionizing radiations such as electrons and protons. The CEMA C
is the quotient of dEc by dm, where dEc is the energy lost by charged particles, except
secondary electrons, in collisions in a mass dm of a material:

dEc
C= (2.2.5)
dm

The unit of cema is joule per kilogram (J/kg) or Gray(Gy)

2.2.5 Dose (D)

This refers to the energy absorbed by the medium. The SI unit is a gray. The dose is said
to be one gray (Gy) if the energy deposit is 1 J/kg. There are two types of dose.

1. Absorbed Dose
The absorbed dose is related to the stochastic quantity energy imparted. The
absorbed dose is defined as the mean energy ε̄ imparted by ionizing radiation to
matter of mass m in a finite volume V given by

d ε̄
DA = (2.2.6)
dm

The energy imparted is the sum of all the energy entering the volume of interest
minus all the energy leaving the volume, taking into account any mass energy
conversion within the volume.

Note that because electrons travel in the medium and deposit energy along their
tracks, this absorption of energy does not take place at the same location as the
transfer of energy described by kerma. The unit of absorbed dose is joule per
kilogram (J/kg).

2. Equivalent Dose
As we deal with animate matter, we are interested in knowing not just energy
deposits, but about the physiological effects that the radiation can produce. In
some sense, this effect is a combination of energy transfer and ionization caused
by the radiation, i.e., exposure and dose. To this end, one defines an equivalent
dose (H), which is the dose multiplied by a quality factor (Q), specific to the type
of radiation and energy.
H = D×Q (2.2.7)

13
 The unit is a sievert (Sv).The quality factor (Q) is defined as Q ≡ 1 for photons
and electrons.

2.3 Radiation dosimeters

A radiation dosimeter is a device, instrument or system that measures or evaluates, either
directly or indirectly, the quantities exposure, kerma, absorbed dose or equivalent dose, or
their time derivatives (rates), or related quantities of ionizing radiation. A dosimeter along
with its reader is referred to as a dosimetry system.

Measurement of a dosimetric quantity is the process of finding the value of the quant-
ity experimentally using dosimetry systems. The result of a measurement is the value of
a dosimetric quantity expressed as the product of a numerical value and an appropriate unit.

To function as a radiation dosimeter, the dosimeter must possess at least one physical prop-
erty that is a function of the measured dosimetric quantity and that can be used for radiation
dosimetry with proper calibration. These properties include:accuracy and precision, lin-
earity, dose or dose rate dependence, energy response, directional dependence and spatial
resolution.

2.3.1 Properties of dosimeters

1. Accuracy and Precision
The precision of dosimetry measurements specifies the reproducibility of the
measurements under similar conditions and can be estimated from the data ob-
tained in repeated measurements. High precision is associated with a small stand-
ard deviation of the distribution of the measurement results.

The accuracy of dosimetry measurements is the proximity of their expectation

value to the ‘true value’ of the measured quantity. Results of measurements can-
not be absolutely accurate and the inaccuracy of a measurement result is charac-
terized as ‘uncertainty’.

The uncertainty is a parameter that describes the dispersion of the measured val-
ues of a quantity; it is evaluated by statistical methods (type A) or by other meth-
ods (type B), has no known sign and is usually assumed to be symmetrical. The
error of measurement is the difference between the measured value of a quantity

14
 and the true value of that quantity.

2. Linearity
Ideally, the dosimeter reading M should be linearly proportional to the dosimet-
ric quantity Q. However, beyond a certain dose range a non-linearity sets in. The
linearity range and the non-linearity behavior depend on the type of dosimeter
and its physical characteristics. In general, a non-linear behavior should be cor-
rected for. A dosimeter and its reader may both exhibit non-linear characteristics,
but their combined effect could produce linearity over a wider range.

3. Dose rate dependence

Integrating systems measure the integrated response of a dosimetry system. For
such systems the measured dosimetric quantity should be independent of the rate
of that quantity.
Ideally, the response of a dosimetry system at two different dose rates ((dQ/dt)1
and (dQ/dt)2) should remain constant. In reality, the dose rate may influence
the dosimeter readings and appropriate corrections are necessary, for example
recombination corrections for ionization chambers in pulsed beams.

4. Energy Dependence
The response of a dosimetry system is generally a function of radiation beam
quality (energy). Since the dosimetry systems are calibrated at a specified radi-
ation beam quality (or qualities) and used over a much wider energy range, the
variation of the response of a dosimetry system with radiation quality (called en-
ergy dependence) requires correction.

Ideally, the energy response should be flat i.e. the system calibration should
be independent of energy over a certain range of radiation qualities. However,
in reality, the energy correction has to be included in the determination of the
quantity Q for most measurement situations.

5. Spatial Resolution and Physical Size

Since the dose is a point quantity, the dosimeter should allow the determination
of the dose from a very small volume i.e. one needs a point dosimeter to charac-
terize the dose at a point. The position of the point where the dose is determined
its spatial location should be well defined in the reference to coordinate system.
Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) come in very small dimensions and their
use, to a great extent, approximates a point measurement. Film dosimeters have
excellent 2-D and gels 3-D resolution, where the point measurement is limited

15
 only by the resolution of the evaluation system. Ionization chamber type dosi-
meters, however, are of finite size to give the required sensitivity, although the
new type of pinpoint microchambers partially overcomes the problem.

6. Readout convenience
Direct reading dosimeters (e.g. ionization chambers) are generally more con-
venient than passive dosimeters (i.e. those that are read after due processing
following the exposure, for example TLDs and films). While some dosimeters
are inherently of the integrating type (e.g. TLDs and gels), others can measure
in both integral and differential modes (ionization chambers).

7. Convenience of use
Ionization chambers are reusable, with no or little change in sensitivity within
their lifespan. Semiconductor dosimeters are reusable, but with a gradual loss
of sensitivity within their lifespan; however, some dosimeters are not reusable
(e.g. films, gels and alanine). Some dosimeters measure dose distribution in a
single exposure (e.g. films and gels) and some dosimeters are quite rugged (i.e.
handling will not influence sensitivity, for example ionization chambers), while
others are sensitive to handling (e.g. TLDs).

2.3.2 Types of Dosimeters

Radiographic Film

Radiographic X ray film performs several important functions in diagnostic radiology, ra-
diotherapy and radiation protection. It can serve as a radiation detector, a relative dosi-
meter, a display device and an archival medium. Unexposed X ray film consists of a base
of thin plastic with a radiation sensitive emulsion (silver bromide (AgBr) grains suspended
in gelatin) coated uniformly on one or both sides of the base.

Radiochromic Film

Radiochromic film is a new type of film in radiotherapy dosimetry. The most commonly
used is a GafChromic film. It is a colourless film with a nearly tissue equivalent compos-
ition (9.0% hydrogen, 60.6% carbon, 11.2% nitrogen and 19.2% oxygen) that develops a
blue colour upon radiation exposure.
Radiochromic film contains a special dye that is polymerized upon exposure to radiation.
The polymer absorbs light, and the transmission of light through the film can be measured
with a suitable densitometer. Radiochromic film is self-developing, requiring neither de-
veloper nor fixer.

16
 Since radiochromic film is grainless, it has a very high resolution and can be used in
high dose gradient regions for dosimetry (e.g. measurements of dose distributions in ste-
reotactic fields and in the vicinity of brachytherapy sources).

Dosimetry with radiochromic films has a few advantages over radiographic films, such
as ease of use; elimination of the need for darkroom facilities, film cassettes or film pro-
cessing; dose rate independence; better energy characteristics (except for low energy X
rays of 25 kV or less); and insensitivity to ambient conditions (although excessive humid-
ity should be avoided).
Radiochromic films are generally less sensitive than radiographic films and are useful at
higher doses, although the dose response non-linearity should be corrected for in the upper
dose region.

Thermoluminescent dosimeter system- TLDs

A basic TLD reader system consists of a planchet for placing and heating the TLD, a PMT
to detect the thermoluminescence light emission and convert it into an electrical signal
linearly proportional to the detected photon fluence and an electrometer for recording the
PMT signal as a charge or current.

The TLDs most commonly used in medical applications are LiF:Mg,Ti, LiF:Mg,Cu,P
and Li2 B4 O7 : Mn, because of their tissue equivalence. Other TLDs, used because of their
high sensitivity, are CaSO4 : Dy, Al2 O3 : C and CaF2 : Mn.

MOSFET dosimetry systems

A metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), a miniature silicon tran-

sistor, possesses excellent spatial resolution and offers very little attenuation of the beam
due to its small size, which is particularly useful for in vivo dosimetry. MOSFET dosi-
meters are based on the measurement of the threshold voltage, which is a linear function
of absorbed dose. Ionizing radiation penetrating the oxide generates charge that is per-
manently trapped, thus causing a change in threshold voltage. The integrated dose may be
measured during or after irradiation. MOSFETs

Silicon diode dosimetry systems

A silicon diode dosimeter is a p–n junction diode. The diodes are produced by taking n
type or p type silicon and counter-doping the surface to produce the opposite type material.
These diodes are referred to as n–Si or p– Si dosimeters, depending upon the base material.

17
Both types of diode are commercially available, but only the p–Si type is suitable for
radiotherapy dosimetry, since it is less affected by radiation damage and has a much smaller
dark current.

18