High energy high intensity coherent photon beam for the SSC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tannenbaum, M.J.

1984-01-01

What is proposed for the 20 TeV protons hitting a fixed target is to make a tertiary electron beam similar to that which is the basis of the tagged photon beam at Fermilab. Briefly, a zero degree neutral beam is formed by sweeping out the primary proton beam and any secondary charged particles. Then the photons, from the decay of π 0 in the neutral beam, are converted to e + e - pairs in a lead converter and a high quality electron beam is formed. This beam is brought to the target area where it is converted to a photon beam by Bremsstrahlung in a radiator

Photon beam convolution using polyenergetic energy deposition kernels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoban, P.W.; Murray, D.C.; Round, W.H.

1994-01-01

In photon beam convolution calculations where polyenergetic energy deposition kernels (EDKs) are used, the primary photon energy spectrum should be correctly accounted for in Monte Carlo generation of EDKs. This requires the probability of interaction, determined by the linear attenuation coefficient, μ, to be taken into account when primary photon interactions are forced to occur at the EDK origin. The use of primary and scattered EDKs generated with a fixed photon spectrum can give rise to an error in the dose calculation due to neglecting the effects of beam hardening with depth. The proportion of primary photon energy that is transferred to secondary electrons increases with depth of interaction, due to the increase in the ratio μ ab /μ as the beam hardens. Convolution depth-dose curves calculated using polyenergetic EDKs generated for the primary photon spectra which exist at depths of 0, 20 and 40 cm in water, show a fall-off which is too steep when compared with EGS4 Monte Carlo results. A beam hardening correction factor applied to primary and scattered 0 cm EDKs, based on the ratio of kerma to terma at each depth, gives primary, scattered and total dose in good agreement with Monte Carlo results. (Author)

Assessment of radiotherapy photon beams: A practical and low cost methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reis, C.Q.M.; Nicolucci, P.

2017-01-01

Dosimetric properties of radiation beams used in radiotherapy are directly related to the energy spectrum produced by the treatment unit. Therefore, the development of methodologies to evaluate in a simple and accurate way the spectra of clinical beams can help establishing the quality control of the treatment. The purpose of this study is to present a practical and low cost methodology for determining primary spectra of radiotherapy photon beams from transmission measurements in attenuators of aluminum and using the method of the inverse Laplace transform. Monte Carlo simulation with PENELOPE code was used in order to evaluate and validate the reconstructed spectra by the calculation of dosimetric parameters that characterize the beam. Percentage depth dose values simulated with a 6 MV reconstructed spectrum shows maximum difference of 4.4% when compared to values measured at the corresponding clinical beam. For a 10 MV beam that difference was around 4.2%. Results obtained in this study confirm the adequacy of the proposed methodology for assessing primary photon beams produced by clinical accelerators. - Highlights: • Primary spectra of radiotherapy photon beams are determined from transmission measurements. • Monte Carlo calculations are used to evaluate the method of the inverse Laplace transform. • The proposed methodology is practical and of low cost for clinical purposes. • Results are in fair agreement with literature and clinical data.

Beam-bending in spatially variant photonic crystals at telecommunications wavelengths

Science.gov (United States)

Digaum, Jennefir L.; Sharma, Rashi; Batista, Daniel; Pazos, Javier J.; Rumpf, Raymond C.; Kuebler, Stephen M.

2016-03-01

This work reports the fabrication of micron-scale spatially variant photonic crystals (SVPCs) and their use for steering light beams through turns with bending radius Rbend on the order of ten times the optical wavelength λ0. Devices based on conventional photonic crystals, metamaterials, plasmonics and transformation optics have all been explored for controlling light beams and steering them through tight turns. These devices offer promise for photonic interconnects, but they are based on exotic materials, including metals, that make them impractically lossy or difficult to fabricate. Waveguides can also be used to steer light using total internal reflection; however, Rbend of a waveguide must be hundreds of times λ0 to guide light efficiently, which limits their use in optical circuits. SVPCs are spatially variant 3D lattices which can be created in transparent, low-refractive-index media and used to control the propagation of light through the self-collimation effect. SVPCs were fabricated by multi-photon lithography using the commercially available photo-polymer IP-DIP. The SVPCs were structurally and optically characterized and found to be capable of bending light having λ0 = 1.55 μm through a 90-degree turn with Rbend = 10 μm. Curved waveguides with Rbend = 15 μm and 35 μm were also fabricated using IP-DIP and optically characterized. The SVPCs were able to steer the light beams through tighter turns than either waveguide and with higher efficiency.

Studies and comparisons of two photon-tagging systems for the production of monochromatic photon beams for photonuclear experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aniel, Thierry.

1982-06-01

The performance of photon beams obtained by two different tagging processes (tagging of ''hard'' annihilation photons with ''soft'' associated photons, tagging of bremstrahlung photons with associated electrons) on the same facility was studied. The two processes are described and experimental results on the characteristics of the resulting beams given. The respective advantages of both methods are compared with one another and with those of a quasi-monochromatic beam obtained by the in-flight annihilation of a positron beam. A development based on the second process is then studied together with its applications to photonuclear physics [fr

Analytical description of photon beam phase spaces in inverse Compton scattering sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Curatolo

2017-08-01

Full Text Available We revisit the description of inverse Compton scattering sources and the photon beams generated therein, emphasizing the behavior of their phase space density distributions and how they depend upon those of the two colliding beams of electrons and photons. The main objective is to provide practical formulas for bandwidth, spectral density, brilliance, which are valid in general for any value of the recoil factor, i.e. both in the Thomson regime of negligible electron recoil, and in the deep Compton recoil dominated region, which is of interest for gamma-gamma colliders and Compton sources for the production of multi-GeV photon beams. We adopt a description based on the center of mass reference system of the electron-photon collision, in order to underline the role of the electron recoil and how it controls the relativistic Doppler/boost effect in various regimes. Using the center of mass reference frame greatly simplifies the treatment, allowing us to derive simple formulas expressed in terms of rms momenta of the two colliding beams (emittance, energy spread, etc. and the collimation angle in the laboratory system. Comparisons with Monte Carlo simulations of inverse Compton scattering in various scenarios are presented, showing very good agreement with the analytical formulas: in particular we find that the bandwidth dependence on the electron beam emittance, of paramount importance in Thomson regime, as it limits the amount of focusing imparted to the electron beam, becomes much less sensitive in deep Compton regime, allowing a stronger focusing of the electron beam to enhance luminosity without loss of mono-chromaticity. A similar effect occurs concerning the bandwidth dependence on the frequency spread of the incident photons: in deep recoil regime the bandwidth comes out to be much less dependent on the frequency spread. The set of formulas here derived are very helpful in designing inverse Compton sources in diverse regimes, giving a

A numerical study of the characteristics of the LEALE photon beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lucherini, V.; De Sanctis, E.; Di Giacomo, P.

1978-01-01

At the LEALE laboratory a monochromatic photon beam with energy in the range 80/300 MeV is available. Photons are produced by positron annihilation on a liquid hydrogen target. The characteristics of the beam are calculated for various conditions (positron energy, photon collimator, target thickness), taking into account the effects contributing to the beam spreading (energy loss and multiple scattering of protons in the annihilation target, energy distribution and angular divergence of the positron beam). (author)

Fast IMRT with narrow high energy scanned photon beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andreassen, Bjoern; Straaring t, Sara Janek; Holmberg, Rickard; Naefstadius, Peder; Brahme, Anders [Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, P.O. Box 260, SE-171 76 Stockholm (Sweden); Department of Hospital Physics, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm (Sweden); Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, P.O. Box 260, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden and Department of Hospital Physics, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm (Sweden)

2011-08-15

Purpose: Since the first publications on intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in the early 1980s almost all efforts have been focused on fairly time consuming dynamic or segmental multileaf collimation. With narrow fast scanned photon beams, the flexibility and accuracy in beam shaping increases, not least in combination with fast penumbra trimming multileaf collimators. Previously, experiments have been performed with full range targets, generating a broad bremsstrahlung beam, in combination with multileaf collimators or material compensators. In the present publication, the first measurements with fast narrow high energy (50 MV) scanned photon beams are presented indicating an interesting performance increase even though some of the hardware used were suboptimal. Methods: Inverse therapy planning was used to calculate optimal scanning patterns to generate dose distributions with interesting properties for fast IMRT. To fully utilize the dose distributional advantages with scanned beams, it is necessary to use narrow high energy beams from a thin bremsstrahlung target and a powerful purging magnet capable of deflecting the transmitted electron beam away from the generated photons onto a dedicated electron collector. During the present measurements the scanning system, purging magnet, and electron collimator in the treatment head of the MM50 racetrack accelerator was used with 3-6 mm thick bremsstrahlung targets of beryllium. The dose distributions were measured with diodes in water and with EDR2 film in PMMA. Monte Carlo simulations with geant4 were used to study the influence of the electrons transmitted through the target on the photon pencil beam kernel. Results: The full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the scanned photon beam was 34 mm measured at isocenter, below 9.5 cm of water, 1 m from the 3 mm Be bremsstrahlung target. To generate a homogeneous dose distribution in a 10 x 10 cm{sup 2} field, the authors used a spot matrix of 100 equal intensity

Imaging high energy photons with PILATUS II at the tagged photon beam at MAX-lab

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, V. [School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 (Australia)], E-mail: leev@physics.unimelb.edu.au; Peake, D.J.; Sobott, B. [School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 (Australia); Schroeder, B. [MAX-lab, Lund University, Lund (Sweden); Broennimann, Ch. [DECTRIS Ltd., Baden (Switzerland); Henrich, B. [Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Hansen, K. [MAX-lab, Lund University, Lund (Sweden); O' Keefe, G.J. [Centre for PET, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084 (Australia); School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 (Australia); Taylor, G.N. [School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 (Australia); Boland, M.J. [Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, Victoria 3168 (Australia); School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 (Australia); Thompson, M.N.; Rassool, R.P. [School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010 (Australia)

2009-05-21

In photonuclear experiments precise location of the photon beam relative to the experimental sample is critical. Previously used techniques such as using photographic film to identify the position, intensity and centroid of the beam is time-consuming and a faster method is required. PILATUS is a single-photon-counting pixel detector developed at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerland. It is a silicon-based, two-dimensional detector with a large dynamic range and zero readout noise. Designed as an X-ray detector, its optimal quantum efficiency is between 3 and 30 keV. This paper reports measurements carried out at the MAX-lab tagged photon facility in Lund, Sweden. The beam endpoint energy of approximately 200 MeV is far above the designed optimal energy detection range of PILATUS, and provides a critical test of the use of PILATUS under high energy conditions. The detector was placed in the photon beam and images were taken both downstream of other experiments, and in close range of a 19 mm collimator. The successful measurements demonstrate the versatility and robustness of the detector and provide an effective way of quickly and accurately monitoring beam position and profile in real time.

Diagnostic phosphors for photon beams at the ALS and APS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, Deming; Warwick, T.; Johnson, E.D.

1991-01-01

Some tests have been made of phosphors for photon beam diagnosis. Plasma sprayed coatings were checked for damage and decay during a period of several ampere-hours of irradiation from the NSLS Xray ring. Surface temperatures were measured and extrapolated to give an indication of the temperatures expected in more powerful photon beams. Based on our findings we have chosen plasma-sprayed coatings of Europium-doped Yttrium Oxide as the best candidate for use on masks and flags in ''white'' photon beams of the new facilities. 4 refs., 2 figs

Gamma beams generation with high intensity lasers for two photon Breit-Wheeler pair production

Science.gov (United States)

D'Humieres, Emmanuel; Ribeyre, Xavier; Jansen, Oliver; Esnault, Leo; Jequier, Sophie; Dubois, Jean-Luc; Hulin, Sebastien; Tikhonchuk, Vladimir; Arefiev, Alex; Toncian, Toma; Sentoku, Yasuhiko

2017-10-01

Linear Breit-Wheeler pair creation is the lowest threshold process in photon-photon interaction, controlling the energy release in Gamma Ray Bursts and Active Galactic Nuclei, but it has never been directly observed in the laboratory. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate the possibility to produce collimated gamma beams with high energy conversion efficiency using high intensity lasers and innovative targets. When two of these beams collide at particular angles, our analytical calculations demonstrate a beaming effect easing the detection of the pairs in the laboratory. This effect has been confirmed in photon collision simulations using a recently developed innovative algorithm. An alternative scheme using Bremsstrahlung radiation produced by next generation high repetition rate laser systems is also being explored and the results of first optimization campaigns in this regime will be presented.

Measuring Beam Quality of Hollow Core Photonic Crystal Fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shephard, J.D.; Roberts, John; Jones, J.D.C.

2006-01-01

In this paper, the authors measure the quality of the delivered beam from hollow core photonic crystal fibers (HC-PCFs). The$M^2$parameter is determined, and the near- to far-field transition is examined. The influence on these properties due to the presence of a core surround mode is evaluated.......17 for the same output beam. This highlights the need for careful consideration when measuring and describing the beam quality delivered by these novel photonic fibers....

Present status of beam position stabilization at photon factory storage ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Norio

1990-01-01

Stabilization of photon beam position became a major issue in the operation of the storage rings dedicated as synchrotron radiation source. At the Photon Factory storage ring (PF ring), the orbit movement appeared remarkably when the low-emittance operation started. This orbit movement became a serious problem to synchrotron radiation users because the photon beam to drift with a large amplitude. The horizontal and vertical orbit feedback systems were constructed and developed in order to suppress the orbit movement globally. As a result, the horizontal and vertical orbit movements were reduced by a factor of five and ten, respectively. In addition, another type of feedback system using a local bump was constructed. In the test operation, this system could remove the fast photon beam motion as well as the slow photon beam drift for a beamline. (author)

Two-photon polymerization of cylinder microstructures by femtosecond Bessel beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Liang [Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China); Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., 30419 Hannover (Germany); El-Tamer, Ayman; Hinze, Ulf; Chichkov, Boris N [Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V., 30419 Hannover (Germany); Li, Jiawen, E-mail: jwl@ustc.edu.cn; Hu, Yanlei; Huang, Wenhao; Chu, Jiaru [Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China)

2014-07-28

In this work, we present an approach to modulate femtosecond laser beams into Bessel beams with a spatial light modulator (SLM) for two-photon polymerization applications. Bessel beams with different parameters are generated and annular optical fields are produced at the focal plane of the objective. Uniform cylinder microstructures are fabricated by a single illumination during a few seconds without stage translation. By modulating the holograms encoded on the SLM, the diameters of the fabricated annular structures can be flexibly controlled in a wide range with no need of changing the optical elements and realignment of the optical path.

Characteristics of photon beams from Philips SL25 linear accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palta, J.R.; Ayyangar, K.; Daftari, I.; Suntharalingam, N.

1990-01-01

The Philips SL25 accelerator is a multimodality machine offering asymmetric collimator jaws and a new type of beam bending and transport system. It produces photon beams, nominally at 6 and 25 MV, and a scattered electron beam with nine selectable energies between 4 and 22 MeV. Dosimetric characteristics for the 6- and 25-MV photon beams are presented with respect to field flatness, surface and depth dose characteristics, isodose distribution, field size factors for both open and wedged fields, and narrow beam transmission data in different materials

Application of spherical diodes for megavoltage photon beams dosimetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbés, Benigno; Azcona, Juan D; Burguete, Javier; Martí-Climent, Josep M

2014-01-01

External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) usually uses heterogeneous dose distributions in a given volume. Designing detectors for quality control of these treatments is still a developing subject. The size of the detectors should be small to enhance spatial resolution and ensure low perturbation of the beam. A high uniformity in angular response is also a very important feature in a detector, because it has to measure radiation coming from all the directions of the space. It is also convenient that detectors are inexpensive and robust, especially to perform in vivo measurements. The purpose of this work is to introduce a new detector for measuring megavoltage photon beams and to assess its performance to measure relative dose in EBRT. The detector studied in this work was designed as a spherical photodiode (1.8 mm in diameter). The change in response of the spherical diodes is measured regarding the angle of incidence, cumulated irradiation, and instantaneous dose rate (or dose per pulse). Additionally, total scatter factors for large and small fields (between 1 × 1 cm(2) and 20 × 20 cm(2)) are evaluated and compared with the results obtained from some commercially available ionization chambers and planar diodes. Additionally, the over-response to low energy scattered photons in large fields is investigated using a shielding layer. The spherical diode studied in this work produces a high signal (150 nC/Gy for photons of nominal energy of 15 MV and 160 for 6 MV, after 12 kGy) and its angular dependence is lower than that of planar diodes: less than 5% between maximum and minimum in all directions, and 2% around one of the axis. It also has a moderated variation with accumulated dose (about 1.5%/kGy for 15 MV photons and 0.7%/kGy for 6 MV, after 12 kGy) and a low variation with dose per pulse (± 0.4%), and its behavior is similar to commercial diodes in total scatter factor measurements. The measurements of relative dose using the spherical diode described in this

Application of spherical diodes for megavoltage photon beams dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbés, Benigno; Azcona, Juan D.; Burguete, Javier; Martí-Climent, Josep M.

2014-01-01

Purpose: External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) usually uses heterogeneous dose distributions in a given volume. Designing detectors for quality control of these treatments is still a developing subject. The size of the detectors should be small to enhance spatial resolution and ensure low perturbation of the beam. A high uniformity in angular response is also a very important feature in a detector, because it has to measure radiation coming from all the directions of the space. It is also convenient that detectors are inexpensive and robust, especially to performin vivo measurements. The purpose of this work is to introduce a new detector for measuring megavoltage photon beams and to assess its performance to measure relative dose in EBRT. Methods: The detector studied in this work was designed as a spherical photodiode (1.8 mm in diameter). The change in response of the spherical diodes is measured regarding the angle of incidence, cumulated irradiation, and instantaneous dose rate (or dose per pulse). Additionally, total scatter factors for large and small fields (between 1 × 1 cm 2 and 20 × 20 cm 2 ) are evaluated and compared with the results obtained from some commercially available ionization chambers and planar diodes. Additionally, the over-response to low energy scattered photons in large fields is investigated using a shielding layer. Results: The spherical diode studied in this work produces a high signal (150 nC/Gy for photons of nominal energy of 15 MV and 160 for 6 MV, after 12 kGy) and its angular dependence is lower than that of planar diodes: less than 5% between maximum and minimum in all directions, and 2% around one of the axis. It also has a moderated variation with accumulated dose (about 1.5%/kGy for 15 MV photons and 0.7%/kGy for 6 MV, after 12 kGy) and a low variation with dose per pulse (±0.4%), and its behavior is similar to commercial diodes in total scatter factor measurements. Conclusions: The measurements of relative dose using

Matching extended-SSD electron beams to multileaf collimated photon beams in the treatment of head and neck cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steel, Jared; Stewart, Allan; Satory, Philip [Auckland Regional Blood and Cancer Service, Auckland City Hospital, 2 Park Road, Grafton, Auckland 1023 (New Zealand)

2009-09-15

Purpose: Matching the penumbra of a 6 MeV electron beam to the penumbra of a 6 MV photon beam is a dose optimization challenge, especially when the electron beam is applied from an extended source-to-surface distance (SSD), as in the case of some head and neck treatments. Traditionally low melting point alloy blocks have been used to define the photon beam shielding over the spinal cord region. However, these are inherently time consuming to construct and employ in the clinical situation. Multileaf collimators (MLCs) provide a fast and reproducible shielding option but generate geometrically nonconformal approximations to the desired beam edge definition. The effects of substituting Cerrobend for the MLC shielding mode in the context of beam matching with extended-SSD electron beams are the subject of this investigation. Methods: Relative dose beam data from a Varian EX 2100 linear accelerator were acquired in a water tank under the 6 MeV electron beam at both standard and extended-SSD and under the 6 MV photon beam defined by Cerrobend and a number of MLC stepping regimes. The effect of increasing the electron beam SSD on the beam penumbra was assessed. MLC stepping was also assessed in terms of the effects on both the mean photon beam penumbra and the intraleaf dose-profile nonuniformity relative to the MLC midleaf. Computational techniques were used to combine the beam data so as to simulate composite relative dosimetry in the water tank, allowing fine control of beam abutment gap variation. Idealized volumetric dosimetry was generated based on the percentage depth-dose data for the beam modes and the abutment geometries involved. Comparison was made between each composite dosimetry dataset and the relevant ideal dosimetry dataset by way of subtraction. Results: Weighted dose-difference volume histograms (DDVHs) were produced, and these, in turn, summed to provide an overall dosimetry score for each abutment and shielding type/angle combination. Increasing the

Matching extended-SSD electron beams to multileaf collimated photon beams in the treatment of head and neck cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steel, Jared; Stewart, Allan; Satory, Philip

2009-01-01

Purpose: Matching the penumbra of a 6 MeV electron beam to the penumbra of a 6 MV photon beam is a dose optimization challenge, especially when the electron beam is applied from an extended source-to-surface distance (SSD), as in the case of some head and neck treatments. Traditionally low melting point alloy blocks have been used to define the photon beam shielding over the spinal cord region. However, these are inherently time consuming to construct and employ in the clinical situation. Multileaf collimators (MLCs) provide a fast and reproducible shielding option but generate geometrically nonconformal approximations to the desired beam edge definition. The effects of substituting Cerrobend for the MLC shielding mode in the context of beam matching with extended-SSD electron beams are the subject of this investigation. Methods: Relative dose beam data from a Varian EX 2100 linear accelerator were acquired in a water tank under the 6 MeV electron beam at both standard and extended-SSD and under the 6 MV photon beam defined by Cerrobend and a number of MLC stepping regimes. The effect of increasing the electron beam SSD on the beam penumbra was assessed. MLC stepping was also assessed in terms of the effects on both the mean photon beam penumbra and the intraleaf dose-profile nonuniformity relative to the MLC midleaf. Computational techniques were used to combine the beam data so as to simulate composite relative dosimetry in the water tank, allowing fine control of beam abutment gap variation. Idealized volumetric dosimetry was generated based on the percentage depth-dose data for the beam modes and the abutment geometries involved. Comparison was made between each composite dosimetry dataset and the relevant ideal dosimetry dataset by way of subtraction. Results: Weighted dose-difference volume histograms (DDVHs) were produced, and these, in turn, summed to provide an overall dosimetry score for each abutment and shielding type/angle combination. Increasing the

Matching extended-SSD electron beams to multileaf collimated photon beams in the treatment of head and neck cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Steel, Jared; Stewart, Allan; Satory, Philip

2009-09-01

Matching the penumbra of a 6 MeV electron beam to the penumbra of a 6 MV photon beam is a dose optimization challenge, especially when the electron beam is applied from an extended source-to-surface distance (SSD), as in the case of some head and neck treatments. Traditionally low melting point alloy blocks have been used to define the photon beam shielding over the spinal cord region. However, these are inherently time consuming to construct and employ in the clinical situation. Multileaf collimators (MLCs) provide a fast and reproducible shielding option but generate geometrically nonconformal approximations to the desired beam edge definition. The effects of substituting Cerrobend for the MLC shielding mode in the context of beam matching with extended-SSD electron beams are the subject of this investigation. Relative dose beam data from a Varian EX 2100 linear accelerator were acquired in a water tank under the 6 MeV electron beam at both standard and extended-SSD and under the 6 MV photon beam defined by Cerrobend and a number of MLC stepping regimes. The effect of increasing the electron beam SSD on the beam penumbra was assessed. MLC stepping was also assessed in terms of the effects on both the mean photon beam penumbra and the intraleaf dose-profile nonuniformity relative to the MLC midleaf. Computational techniques were used to combine the beam data so as to simulate composite relative dosimetry in the water tank, allowing fine control of beam abutment gap variation. Idealized volumetric dosimetry was generated based on the percentage depth-dose data for the beam modes and the abutment geometries involved. Comparison was made between each composite dosimetry dataset and the relevant ideal dosimetry dataset by way of subtraction. Weighted dose-difference volume histograms (DDVHs) were produced, and these, in turn, summed to provide an overall dosimetry score for each abutment and shielding type/angle combination. Increasing the electron beam SSD increased

Dosimetric Uncertainties in Verification of Intensity Modulated Photon Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jurkovic, S.

2010-01-01

The doctoral thesis presents method for the calculation of the compensators' shape to modulate linear accelerators' beams. Characteristic of the method is more strict calculation of the scattered radiation in beams with an inhomogeneous cross-section than it was before. Method could be applied in various clinical situations. It's dosimetric verification was made in phantoms, measuring dose distributions using ionization chambers as well as radiographic film. Therefore, ionization chambers were used for the evaluation of modulator shape and film was used for the evaluation of two-dimensional dose distributions. It is well known that dosimetry of the intensity modulated photon beams is rather complicated regarding inhomogeneity of the dose distribution. The main reason for that is the beam modulator which changes spectral distribution of the beam. Possibility of use different types of detectors for the measurements of dose distributions in modulated photon beams and their accuracy were examined. Small volume ionization chambers, different diodes and amorphus silicon detector and radigraphic film were used. Measured dose distributions were compared between each other as well as with distributions simulated using Monte Carlo particle transport algorithm. In this way the most accurate method for the verification of modulate photon beams is suggested. (author)

Photon-Electron Interaction and Condense Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chattopadhyay, S.

1998-01-01

We discuss beams of charged particles and radiation from multiple perspectives. These include fundamental acceleration and radiation mechanisms, underlying electron-photon interaction, various classical and quantum phase-space concepts and fluctuational interpretations

Giant nonlinear interaction between two optical beams via a quantum dot embedded in a photonic wire

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, H. A.; Grange, T.; Reznychenko, B.; Yeo, I.; de Assis, P.-L.; Tumanov, D.; Fratini, F.; Malik, N. S.; Dupuy, E.; Gregersen, N.; Auffèves, A.; Gérard, J.-M.; Claudon, J.; Poizat, J.-Ph.

2018-05-01

Optical nonlinearities usually appear for large intensities, but discrete transitions allow for giant nonlinearities operating at the single-photon level. This has been demonstrated in the last decade for a single optical mode with cold atomic gases, or single two-level systems coupled to light via a tailored photonic environment. Here, we demonstrate a two-mode giant nonlinearity with a single semiconductor quantum dot (QD) embedded in a photonic wire antenna. We exploit two detuned optical transitions associated with the exciton-biexciton QD level scheme. Owing to the broadband waveguide antenna, the two transitions are efficiently interfaced with two free-space laser beams. The reflection of one laser beam is then controlled by the other beam, with a threshold power as low as 10 photons per exciton lifetime (1.6 nW ). Such a two-color nonlinearity opens appealing perspectives for the realization of ultralow-power logical gates and optical quantum gates, and could also be implemented in an integrated photonic circuit based on planar waveguides.

Surface dose measurements and comparison of unflattened and flattened photon beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashokkumar Sigamani

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the central axis dose in the build-up region and the surface dose of a 6 MV and 10 MV flattened photon beam (FB and flattening filter free (FFF therapeutic photon beam for different square field sizes (FSs for a Varian Truebeam linear accelerator using parallel-plate ionization chamber and Gafchromic film. Knowledge of dosimetric characteristics in the build-up region and surface dose of the FFF is essential for clinical care. The dose measurements were also obtained empirically using two different commonly used dosimeters: a p-type photon semiconductor dosimeter and a cylindrical ionization chamber. Surface dose increased linearly with FS for both FB and FFF photon beams. The surface dose values of FFF were higher than the FB FSs. The measured surface dose clearly increases with increasing FS. The FFF beams have a modestly higher surface dose in the build-up region than the FB. The dependence of source to skin distance (SSD is less significant in FFF beams when compared to the flattened beams at extended SSDs.

Fundamental limits on beam stability at the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decker, G. A.

1998-01-01

Orbit correction is now routinely performed at the few-micron level in the Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring. Three diagnostics are presently in use to measure and control both AC and DC orbit motions: broad-band turn-by-turn rf beam position monitors (BPMs), narrow-band switched heterodyne receivers, and photoemission-style x-ray beam position monitors. Each type of diagnostic has its own set of systematic error effects that place limits on the ultimate pointing stability of x-ray beams supplied to users at the APS. Limiting sources of beam motion at present are magnet power supply noise, girder vibration, and thermal timescale vacuum chamber and girder motion. This paper will investigate the present limitations on orbit correction, and will delve into the upgrades necessary to achieve true sub-micron beam stability

Quantum and classical control of single photon states via a mechanical resonator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basiri-Esfahani, Sahar; Myers, Casey R; Combes, Joshua; Milburn, G J

2016-01-01

Optomechanical systems typically use light to control the quantum state of a mechanical resonator. In this paper, we propose a scheme for controlling the quantum state of light using the mechanical degree of freedom as a controlled beam splitter. Preparing the mechanical resonator in non-classical states enables an optomechanical Stern–Gerlach interferometer. When the mechanical resonator has a small coherent amplitude it acts as a quantum control, entangling the optical and mechanical degrees of freedom. As the coherent amplitude of the resonator increases, we recover single photon and two-photon interference via a classically controlled beam splitter. The visibility of the two-photon interference is particularly sensitive to coherent excitations in the mechanical resonator and this could form the basis of an optically transduced weak-force sensor. (paper)

Study of the exotic Θ+ with polarized photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Qiang

2004-01-01

We carry out an analysis of the pentaquark Θ + photoproduction with polarized photon beams. Kinematical and dynamical aspects are examined for the purpose of determining Θ + 's spin and parity. It shows that the polarized photon beam asymmetry in association with certain dynamical properties of the production mechanism would provide further information on its quantum numbers. Facilities at SPring-8, JLab, ELSA, and ESRF will have access to them

A dark hollow beam from a selectively liquid-filled photonic crystal fibre

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mei-Yan, Zhang; Shu-Guang, Li; Yan-Yan, Yao; Bo, Fu; Lei, Zhang

2010-01-01

This paper reports that, based on the electromagnetic scattering theory of the multipole method, a high-quality hollow beam is produced through a selectively liquid-filled photonic crystal fibre. Instead of a doughnut shape, a typical hollow beam is produced by other methods; the mode-field images of the hollow-beam photonic crystal fibre satisfy sixth-order rotation symmetry, according to the symmetry of the photonic crystal fibre (PCF) structure. A dark spot size of the liquid-filled photonic crystal fibre-generated hollow beam can be tuned by inserting liquid into the cladding region and varying the photonic crystal fibre structure parameters. The liquid-filled PCF makes a convenient and flexible tool for the guiding and trapping of atoms and the creation of all-fibre optical tweezers. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Optimum steering of photon beam lines in SPEAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corbett, W.J.; Fong, B.; Lee, M.; Ziemann, V.

1993-04-01

A common operational requirement for many synchrotron light sources is to maintain steered photon beamlines with minimum corrector strength values. To solve this problem for SPEAR, we employed the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) matrix-inversion technique to minimize corrector strengths while constraining the photon beamlines to remain on target. The result was a reduction in corrector strengths, yielding increased overhead for the photon-beam position feedback systems

Focused-ion-beam nano-structuring of photonic cavities in dielectric materials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ay, F.; Pollnau, Markus

Focused ion beam (FIB) milling is an emerging technology that enables fast, reliable and well-controlled nanometer-size feature definition. In this work we will discuss applications of the tool in the area of photonics. The FIB technique can be adapted and optimized almost for any material system

Laboratory Astrophysics Using High Energy Density Photon and Electron Beams

CERN Document Server

Bingham, Robert

2005-01-01

The development of intense laser and particle beams has opened up new opportunities to study high energy density astrophysical processes in the Laboratory. With even higher laser intensities possible in the near future vacuum polarization processes such as photon - photon scattering with or without large magnetic fields may also be experimentally observed. In this talk I will review the status of laboratory experiments using intense beans to investigate extreme astrophysical phenomena such as supernovae explosions, gamma x-ray bursts, ultra-high energy cosmic accelerators etc. Just as intense photon or electron beams can excite relativistic electron plasma waves or wakefields used in plasma acceleration, intense neutrino beams from type II supernovae can also excite wakefields or plasma waves. Other instabilities driven by intense beams relevant to perhaps x-ray bursts is the Weibel instability. Simulation results of extreme processes will also be presented.

Beam position monitor data acquisition for the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenkszus, F.R.; Kahana, E.; Votaw, A.J.; Decker, G.A.; Chung, Y.; Ciarlette, D.J.; Laird, R.J.

1993-01-01

This paper describes the Beam Position Monitor (BPM) data acquisition scheme for the Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring. The storage ring contains 360 beam position monitors distributed around its 1104-meter circumference. The beam position monitor data acquisition system is capable of making turn-by-turn measurements of all BPMs simultaneously. It is VXI-based with each VXI crate containing the electronics for 9 BPMS. The VXI Local Bus is used to provide sustained data transfer rates of up to 13 mega-transfers per second to a scanner module. The system provides single-bunch tracking, bunch-to-bunch measurements, fast digital-averaged positions, beam position history buffering, and synchronized multi-turn measurements. Data is accessible to the control system VME crates via an MXI bus. Dedicated high-speed ports are provided to supply position data to beam orbit feedback systems

Theory, simulation and experiments for precise deflection control of radiotherapy electron beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Figueroa, R.; Leiva, J.; Moncada, R.; Rojas, L.; Santibanez, M.; Valente, M.; Young, H. [Universidad de la Frontera, Centro de Fisica e Ingenieria en Medicina, Av. Francisco Salazar 1145, Casilla 54-D, Temuco (Chile); Velasquez, J. [Universidad de la Frontera, Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Av. Francisco Salazar 1145, Casilla 54-D, Temuco (Chile); Zelada, G. [Clinica Alemana de Santiago, Av. Vitacura 5951, 13132 Vitacura, Santiago (Chile); Astudillo, R., E-mail: rodolfo.figueroa@ufrontera.cl [Hospital Base de Valdivia, C. Simpson 850, XIV Region de los Rios, Valdivia (Chile)

2017-10-15

Conventional radiotherapy is mainly applied by linear accelerators. Although linear accelerators provide dual (electron/photon) radiation beam modalities, both of them are intrinsically produced by a megavoltage electron current. Modern radiotherapy treatment techniques are based on suitable devices inserted or attached to conventional linear accelerators. Thus, precise control of delivered beam becomes a main key issue. This work presents an integral description of electron beam deflection control as required for novel radiotherapy technique based on convergent photon beam production. Theoretical and Monte Carlo approaches were initially used for designing and optimizing devices components. Then, dedicated instrumentation was developed for experimental verification of electron beam deflection due to the designed magnets. Both Monte Carlo simulations and experimental results support the reliability of electrodynamics models used for predict megavoltage electron beam control. (Author)

Theory, simulation and experiments for precise deflection control of radiotherapy electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Figueroa, R.; Leiva, J.; Moncada, R.; Rojas, L.; Santibanez, M.; Valente, M.; Young, H.; Velasquez, J.; Zelada, G.; Astudillo, R.

2017-10-01

Conventional radiotherapy is mainly applied by linear accelerators. Although linear accelerators provide dual (electron/photon) radiation beam modalities, both of them are intrinsically produced by a megavoltage electron current. Modern radiotherapy treatment techniques are based on suitable devices inserted or attached to conventional linear accelerators. Thus, precise control of delivered beam becomes a main key issue. This work presents an integral description of electron beam deflection control as required for novel radiotherapy technique based on convergent photon beam production. Theoretical and Monte Carlo approaches were initially used for designing and optimizing devices components. Then, dedicated instrumentation was developed for experimental verification of electron beam deflection due to the designed magnets. Both Monte Carlo simulations and experimental results support the reliability of electrodynamics models used for predict megavoltage electron beam control. (Author)

Photonic guiding structures in lithium niobate crystals produced by energetic ion beams

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Feng

2009-10-01

A range of ion beam techniques have been used to fabricate a variety of photonic guiding structures in the well-known lithium niobate (LiNbO3 or LN) crystals that are of great importance in integrated photonics/optics. This paper reviews the up-to-date research progress of ion-beam-processed LiNbO3 photonic structures and reports on their fabrication, characterization, and applications. Ion beams are being used with this material in a wide range of techniques, as exemplified by the following examples. Ion beam milling/etching can remove the selected surface regions of LiNbO3 crystals via the sputtering effects. Ion implantation and swift ion irradiation can form optical waveguide structures by modifying the surface refractive indices of the LiNbO3 wafers. Crystal ion slicing has been used to obtain bulk-quality LiNbO3 single-crystalline thin films or membranes by exfoliating the implanted layer from the original substrate. Focused ion beams can either generate small structures of micron or submicron dimensions, to realize photonic bandgap crystals in LiNbO3, or directly write surface waveguides or other guiding devices in the crystal. Ion beam-enhanced etching has been extensively applied for micro- or nanostructuring of LiNbO3 surfaces. Methods developed to fabricate a range of photonic guiding structures in LiNbO3 are introduced. Modifications of LiNbO3 through the use of various energetic ion beams, including changes in refractive index and properties related to the photonic guiding structures as well as to the materials (i.e., electro-optic, nonlinear optic, luminescent, and photorefractive features), are overviewed in detail. The application of these LiNbO3 photonic guiding structures in both micro- and nanophotonics are briefly summarized.

Integrated single- and two-photon light sheet microscopy using accelerating beams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Piksarv, Peeter; Marti, Dominik; Le, Tuan

2017-01-01

We demonstrate the first light sheet microscope using propagation invariant, accelerating Airy beams that operates both in single- and two-photon modes. The use of the Airy beam permits us to develop an ultra compact, high resolution light sheet system without beam scanning. In two-photon mode......, an increase in the field of view over the use of a standard Gaussian beam by a factor of six is demonstrated. This implementation for light sheet microscopy opens up new possibilities across a wide range of biomedical applications, especially for the study of neuronal processes....

Ultra-compact laser beam steering device using holographically formed two dimensional photonic crystal.

Science.gov (United States)

Dou, Xinyuan; Chen, Xiaonan; Chen, Maggie Yihong; Wang, Alan Xiaolong; Jiang, Wei; Chen, Ray T

2010-03-01

In this paper, we report the theoretical study of polymer-based photonic crystals for laser beam steering which is based on the superprism effect as well as the experiment fabrication of the two dimensional photonic crystals for the laser beam steering. Superprism effect, the principle for beam steering, was separately studied in details through EFC (Equifrequency Contour) analysis. Polymer based photonic crystals were fabricated through double exposure holographic interference method using SU8-2007. The experiment results showed a beam steering angle of 10 degree for 30 nm wavelength variation.

The use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy photon beams for improving the dose uniformity of electron beams shaped with MLC.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosalaei, Homeira; Karnas, Scott; Shah, Sheel; Van Doodewaard, Sharon; Foster, Tim; Chen, Jeff

2012-01-01

Electrons are ideal for treating shallow tumors and sparing adjacent normal tissue. Conventionally, electron beams are collimated by cut-outs that are time-consuming to make and difficult to adapt to tumor shape throughout the course of treatment. We propose that electron cut-outs can be replaced using photon multileaf collimator (MLC). Two major problems of this approach are that the scattering of electrons causes penumbra widening because of a large air gap, and available commercial treatment planning systems (TPSs) do not support MLC-collimated electron beams. In this study, these difficulties were overcome by (1) modeling electron beams collimated by photon MLC for a commercial TPS, and (2) developing a technique to reduce electron beam penumbra by adding low-energy intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) photons (4 MV). We used blocks to simulate MLC shielding in the TPS. Inverse planning was used to optimize boost photon beams. This technique was applied to a parotid and a central nervous system (CNS) clinical case. Combined photon and electron plans were compared with conventional plans and verified using ion chamber, film, and a 2D diode array. Our studies showed that the beam penumbra for mixed beams with 90 cm source to surface distance (SSD) is comparable with electron applicators and cut-outs at 100 cm SSD. Our mixed-beam technique yielded more uniform dose to the planning target volume and lower doses to various organs at risk for both parotid and CNS clinical cases. The plans were verified with measurements, with more than 95% points passing the gamma criteria of 5% in dose difference and 5 mm for distance to agreement. In conclusion, the study has demonstrated the feasibility and potential advantage of using photon MLC to collimate electron beams with boost photon IMRT fields. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Photon beam commissioning of an Elekta Synergy linear accelerator

Science.gov (United States)

Al Mashud, Md Abdullah; Tariquzzaman, M.; Jahangir Alam, M.; Zakaria, GA

2017-12-01

The aim of this study is to present the results of commissioning of Elekta Synergy linear accelerator (linac). The acceptance test and commissioning were performed for three photon beams energies 4 MV, 6 MV and 15 MV and for the multileaf collimator (MLC). The percent depth doses (PDDs), in-plane and cross-plane beam profiles, head scatter factors (Sc), relative photon output factors (Scp), universal wedge transmission factor and MLC transmission factors were measured. The size of gantry, collimator, and couch isocenter were also measured.

Packaging consideration of two-dimensional polymer-based photonic crystals for laser beam steering

Science.gov (United States)

Dou, Xinyuan; Chen, Xiaonan; Chen, Maggie Yihong; Wang, Alan Xiaolong; Jiang, Wei; Chen, Ray T.

2009-02-01

In this paper, we report the theoretical study of polymer-based photonic crystals for laser beam steering which is based on the superprism effect as well as the experiment fabrication of the two dimensional photonic crystals for the laser beam steering. Superprism effect, the principle for beam steering, was separately studied in details through EFC (Equifrequency Contour) analysis. Polymer based photonic crystals were fabricated through double exposure holographic interference method using SU8-2007. The experiment results were also reported.

Theoretical and experimental study of an energy-reinforced braking radiation photon beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertin, Pierre-Yves

1966-01-01

This research thesis reports the theoretical study of a photon beam raised towards high energies, its experimental implementation, the definition of a gamma spectrometry method which aimed at checking various hypotheses used in the beam theoretical study. After a presentation of the theory of phenomena of electron braking radiation, of materialisation of photons into positon-negaton pair, and of issues related to multiple Coulomb diffusion, the author reports the study of the different solutions which allow a photon beam to be obtained. A braking radiation of mono-kinetic electron has been used. This braking radiation is reinforced by absorption of low energy protons in a column of lithium hydride. The author describes how the beam is built up, and the experimental approach. He describes how raw data are processed to get rid of the influence of the multiple Coulomb diffusion and of the braking radiation. Experimental results are compared with those obtained by convolution of photon spectra and differential cross section

Fabrication of photonic crystals on several kinds of semiconductor materials by using focused-ion beam method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Xingsheng; Chen Hongda; Xiong Zhigang; Jin Aizi; Gu Changzhi; Cheng Bingying; Zhang Daozhong

2007-01-01

In this paper, we introduced the fabrication of photonic crystals on several kinds of semiconductor materials by using focused-ion beam machine, it shows that the method of focused-ion beam can fabricate two-dimensional photonic crystal and photonic crystal device efficiently, and the quality of the fabricated photonic crystal is high. Using the focused-ion beam method, we fabricate photonic crystal wavelength division multiplexer, and its characteristics are analyzed

Modelling of electron contamination in clinical photon beams for Monte Carlo dose calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, J; Li, J S; Qin, L; Xiong, W; Ma, C-M

2004-01-01

The purpose of this work is to model electron contamination in clinical photon beams and to commission the source model using measured data for Monte Carlo treatment planning. In this work, a planar source is used to represent the contaminant electrons at a plane above the upper jaws. The source size depends on the dimensions of the field size at the isocentre. The energy spectra of the contaminant electrons are predetermined using Monte Carlo simulations for photon beams from different clinical accelerators. A 'random creep' method is employed to derive the weight of the electron contamination source by matching Monte Carlo calculated monoenergetic photon and electron percent depth-dose (PDD) curves with measured PDD curves. We have integrated this electron contamination source into a previously developed multiple source model and validated the model for photon beams from Siemens PRIMUS accelerators. The EGS4 based Monte Carlo user code BEAM and MCSIM were used for linac head simulation and dose calculation. The Monte Carlo calculated dose distributions were compared with measured data. Our results showed good agreement (less than 2% or 2 mm) for 6, 10 and 18 MV photon beams

Intermediate Megavoltage Photon Beams for Improved Lung Cancer Treatments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Zhang

Full Text Available The goal of this study is to evaluate the effects of intermediate megavoltage (3-MV photon beams on SBRT lung cancer treatments. To start with, a 3-MV virtual beam was commissioned on a commercial treatment planning system based on Monte Carlo simulations. Three optimized plans (6-MV, 3-MV and dual energy of 3- and 6-MV were generated for 31 lung cancer patients with identical beam configuration and optimization constraints for each patient. Dosimetric metrics were evaluated and compared among the three plans. Overall, planned dose conformity was comparable among three plans for all 31 patients. For 21 thin patients with average short effective path length (< 10 cm, the 3-MV plans showed better target coverage and homogeneity with dose spillage index R50% = 4.68±0.83 and homogeneity index = 1.26±0.06, as compared to 4.95±1.01 and 1.31±0.08 in the 6-MV plans (p < 0.001. Correspondingly, the average/maximum reductions of lung volumes receiving 20 Gy (V20Gy, 5 Gy (V5Gy, and mean lung dose (MLD were 7%/20%, 9%/30% and 5%/10%, respectively in the 3-MV plans (p < 0.05. The doses to 5% volumes of the cord, esophagus, trachea and heart were reduced by 9.0%, 10.6%, 11.4% and 7.4%, respectively (p < 0.05. For 10 thick patients, dual energy plans can bring dosimetric benefits with comparable target coverage, integral dose and reduced dose to the critical structures, as compared to the 6-MV plans. In conclusion, our study indicated that 3-MV photon beams have potential dosimetric benefits in treating lung tumors in terms of improved tumor coverage and reduced doses to the adjacent critical structures, in comparison to 6-MV photon beams. Intermediate megavoltage photon beams (< 6-MV may be considered and added into current treatment approaches to reduce the adjacent normal tissue doses while maintaining sufficient tumor dose coverage in lung cancer radiotherapy.

Applications of a controlled phase gate for photons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmid, C.; Kiesel, N.; Weber, U.; Weinfurter, H.; Toth, G; Ursin, R.; Guehne, O.

2005-01-01

Full text: We report on experimental applications of a probabilistic quantum controlled-phase gate for photons. The gate is operating on the polarization degree of freedom and applies a pi phase shift to a target photon, conditioned on the polarization of a control photon. This is experimentally realized by overlapping the input photons on a beam splitter with polarization dependent splitting ratio (TH=1, TV=1/3). The phase is thereby introduced by a second order interference in case two vertically polarized photons are passing the gate. In order to ensure polarization independent weighting coefficients for the output states of all possible input combinations, two beam splitters with reversed splitting ratio (TH=1/3, TV=1) are placed after each output of the overlap BS. The gate allows the implementation of a full Bell state analysis and by this the accomplishment of a complete teleportation experiment. As input we used horizontal, vertical, +45 o , and right circular polarized photon states from which we could deduce a teleportation process tomography for each of the four Bell states detected. Whereas in the Bell state analysis the gate maps an entangled state onto a product state, it can be used as well in the opposite way for an entangling operation. We exploit this fact to generate a certain four qubit entangled state, the so-called four-photon cluster state. In order to do so we apply the gate on two photons of two different EPR pairs originating from a spontaneous parametric down conversion process. The resulting experimental state shows a fidelity of 74.4 ± 1.2 % to the theoretically expected one. By the experimental violation of a specially tailored Bell inequality we are able to proof its non-locality and delimit it from a GHZ state. We demonstrate its genuine four-photon entanglement by a witness measurement. Furthermore we characterize the generated state by the study of its remarkable entanglement persistency properties with respect to the measurement

Rapid volumetric imaging with Bessel-Beam three-photon microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bingying; Huang, Xiaoshuai; Gou, Dongzhou; Zeng, Jianzhi; Chen, Guoqing; Pang, Meijun; Hu, Yanhui; Zhao, Zhe; Zhang, Yunfeng; Zhou, Zhuan; Wu, Haitao; Cheng, Heping; Zhang, Zhigang; Xu, Chris; Li, Yulong; Chen, Liangyi; Wang, Aimin

2018-01-01

Owing to its tissue-penetration ability, multi-photon fluorescence microscopy allows for the high-resolution, non-invasive imaging of deep tissue in vivo; the recently developed three-photon microscopy (3PM) has extended the depth of high-resolution, non-invasive functional imaging of mouse brains to beyond 1.0 mm. However, the low repetition rate of femtosecond lasers that are normally used in 3PM limits the temporal resolution of point-scanning three-photon microscopy. To increase the volumetric imaging speed of 3PM, we propose a combination of an axially elongated needle-like Bessel-beam with three-photon excitation (3PE) to image biological samples with an extended depth of focus. We demonstrate the higher signal-to-background ratio (SBR) of the Bessel-beam 3PM compared to the two-photon version both theoretically and experimentally. Finally, we perform simultaneous calcium imaging of brain regions at different axial locations in live fruit flies and rapid volumetric imaging of neuronal structures in live mouse brains. These results highlight the unique advantage of conducting rapid volumetric imaging with a high SBR in the deep brain in vivo using scanning Bessel-3PM.

THE PAIR BEAM PRODUCTION SPECTRUM FROM PHOTON-PHOTON ANNIHILATION IN COSMIC VOIDS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schlickeiser, R.; Ibscher, D. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Lehrstuhl IV: Weltraum- und Astrophysik, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, D-44780 Bochum (Germany); Elyiv, A. [Institut d' Astrophysique et de Geophysique, Universite de Liege, B-4000 Liege (Belgium); Miniati, F., E-mail: rsch@tp4.rub.de, E-mail: ibscher@tp4.rub.de, E-mail: elyiv@astro.ulg.ac.be, E-mail: fm@phys.ethz.ch [Physics Department, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, ETH-Zuerich, CH-8093 Zuerich (Switzerland)

2012-10-20

Highly beamed relativistic e {sup {+-}}-pair energy distributions result in double photon collisions of the beamed gamma rays from TeV blazars at cosmological distances with the isotropically distributed extragalactic background light (EBL) in the intergalactic medium. The typical energies k {sub 0} {approx_equal} 10{sup -7} in units of m{sub e}c {sup 2} of the EBL are more than 10 orders of magnitude smaller than the observed gamma-ray energies k {sub 1} {>=} 10{sup 7}. Using the limit k {sub 0} << k {sub 1}, we demonstrate that the angular distribution of the generated pairs in the lab frame is highly beamed in the direction of the initial gamma-ray photons. For the astrophysically important case of power-law distributions of the emitted gamma-ray beam up to the maximum energy M interacting with Wien-type N(k {sub 0}){proportional_to}k{sup q} {sub 0}exp (- k {sub 0}/{Theta}) soft photon distributions with total number density N {sub 0}, we calculate analytical approximations for the electron production spectrum. For distant objects with luminosity distances d{sub L} >> r {sub 0} = ({sigma} {sub T} N {sub 0}){sup -1} = 0.49N {sup -1} {sub 0} Mpc (with Thomson cross section {sigma} {sub T}), the implied large values of the optical depth {tau}{sub 0} = d{sub L} /r {sub 0} indicate that the electron production spectra differ at energies inside and outside the interval [({Theta}ln {tau}{sub 0}){sup -1}, {tau}{sub 0}/{Theta}], given the maximum gamma-ray energy M >> {Theta}{sup -1}. In the case M >> {Theta}{sup -1}, the production spectrum is strongly peaked near E {approx_equal} {Theta}{sup -1}, being exponentially reduced at small energies and decreasing with the steep power law {proportional_to}E {sup -1-p} up to the maximum energy E = M - (1/2).

Photon beam properties at the European XFEL (December 2010 revision)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneidmiller, E.A.; Yurkov, M.V.

2011-09-15

A new set of baseline parameters of the electron beam and undulator for the European XFEL project has been defined recently. Changes refer to the electron beam emittance, charge, operation at different electron energies, and change of undulator period. According to the present concept, it is planned to vary charge from 20 pC to 1 nC allowing control of the FWHM radiation pulse duration. Operation at different electron energies of 17.5 GeV, 14 GeV, and 10.5 GeV will allow extension of the wavelength range to longer wavelengths. Electron bunches with different charges possess different properties. These features have an impact on photon beam properties which should be taken into account at the design stage optical beamlines and instruments and planning user experiments. In this note we present an overview of the radiation properties generated by SASE FEL radiators driven by electron beam with revised baseline parameters. (orig.)

A polarized {sup 3}He target for the photon beam at MAMI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krimmer, J., E-mail: j.krimmer@ipnl.in2p3.fr [Institut fuer Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet, Staudinger Weg 7, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Institut de Physique Nucleaire de Lyon, 4 rue Enrico Fermi, 69622 Villeurbanne cedex (France); Aguar Bartolome, P.; Ahrens, J. [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 45, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Altieri, S. [INFN Sezione di Pavia, Pavia (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica Nucleare e Teorica, Universita di Pavia, Pavia (Italy); Arends, H.J. [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 45, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Heil, W.; Karpuk, S.; Otten, E.W. [Institut fuer Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet, Staudinger Weg 7, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Pedroni, P. [INFN Sezione di Pavia, Pavia (Italy); Salhi, Z. [Institut fuer Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet, Staudinger Weg 7, 55099 Mainz (Germany); Thomas, A. [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 45, 55099 Mainz (Germany)

2011-08-21

A polarized {sup 3}He target has been installed for the first time inside the 4{pi} Crystal Ball detector at the tagged photon beam of the MAinz MIcrotron (MAMI). It has been demonstrated that the system works reliably and that the polarization losses during handling of the polarized gas are under control. Initial polarization values up to 70% and total relaxation times up to 20 h could be obtained during a first test beam time devoted to the measurement of the double polarized photoabsorption cross-section in the {Delta}(1232) baryon resonance region.

The physics of small megavoltage photon beam dosimetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreo, Pedro

2018-02-01

The increased interest during recent years in the use of small megavoltage photon beams in advanced radiotherapy techniques has led to the development of dosimetry recommendations by different national and international organizations. Their requirement of data suitable for the different clinical options available, regarding treatment units and dosimetry equipment, has generated a considerable amount of research by the scientific community during the last decade. The multiple publications in the field have led not only to the availability of new invaluable data, but have also contributed substantially to an improved understanding of the physics of their dosimetry. This work provides an overview of the most important aspects that govern the physics of small megavoltage photon beam dosimetry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mini-beam collimator applications at the Advanced Photon Source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu Shenglan, E-mail: sxu@anl.gov [GM/CA CAT, Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Keefe, Lisa J.; Mulichak, Anne [IMCA CAT, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Yan Lifen; Alp, Ercan E.; Zhao Jiyong [X-ray Sciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Fischetti, Robert F. [GM/CA CAT, Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)

2011-09-01

In 2007, the General Medicine and Cancer Institutes Collaborative Access Team (GM/CA CAT, Sector 23, Advanced Photon Source) began providing mini-beam collimators to its users. These collimators contained individual, 5- or 10-{mu}m pinholes and were rapidly exchangeable, thereby allowing users to tailor the beam size to their experimental needs. The use of these collimators provided a reduction in background noise, and thus improved the signal-to-noise ratio . Recent improvements in the collimator design include construction of the device from a monolithic piece of molybdenum with multiple pinholes mounted inside . This allows users to select from various size options from within the beamline control software without the realignment that was previously necessary. In addition, a new, 20-{mu}m pinhole has been added to create a 'quad-collimator', resulting in greater flexibility for the users. The mini-beam collimator is now available at multiple crystallographic beamlines and also is a part of the first Moessbauer Microscopic system at sector 3-ID.

Mini-beam collimator applications at the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Shenglan; Keefe, Lisa J.; Mulichak, Anne; Yan Lifen; Alp, Ercan E.; Zhao Jiyong; Fischetti, Robert F.

2011-01-01

In 2007, the General Medicine and Cancer Institutes Collaborative Access Team (GM/CA CAT, Sector 23, Advanced Photon Source) began providing mini-beam collimators to its users. These collimators contained individual, 5- or 10-μm pinholes and were rapidly exchangeable, thereby allowing users to tailor the beam size to their experimental needs. The use of these collimators provided a reduction in background noise, and thus improved the signal-to-noise ratio . Recent improvements in the collimator design include construction of the device from a monolithic piece of molybdenum with multiple pinholes mounted inside . This allows users to select from various size options from within the beamline control software without the realignment that was previously necessary. In addition, a new, 20-μm pinhole has been added to create a 'quad-collimator', resulting in greater flexibility for the users. The mini-beam collimator is now available at multiple crystallographic beamlines and also is a part of the first Moessbauer Microscopic system at sector 3-ID.

A photon beam position monitor for SSRL beamline 9

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cerino, J.A.; Rabedeau, T.; Bowen, W.

1995-10-01

We present here the concept of a simple one dimensional photon beam position monitor for use with high power synchrotron radiation beams. It has micron resolution, reasonable linearity in an inexpensive design. Most important, is its insensitivity to diffusely scattered low energy radiation from components upstream of the monitor

Temporal nonlinear beam dynamics in infiltrated photonic crystal fibers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bennet, Francis; Rosberg, Christian Romer; Neshev, Dragomir N.

Liquid-infiltrated photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) offer a new way of studying light propagation in periodic and discrete systems. A wide range of available fiber structures combined with the ease of infiltration opens up a range of novel experimental opportunities for optical detection and bio...... the evolution of the fiber output beam in the few micro or milliseconds after the beam is turned on. The characterization of the temporal behavior of the thermal nonlinear response provides important information about the nonlocality associated with heat diffusion inside the fiber, thus enabling studies of long...... and technological potential of liquid-infiltrated PCFs it is important to understand the temporal dynamics of nonlinear beam propagation in such structures. In this work we consider thermally induced spatial nonlinear effects in infiltrated photonic crystal fibers. We experimentally study the temporal dynamics...

Photonuclear physics with low intensity photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mecking, B.A.

1985-01-01

Experiments in photonuclear physics are discussed that require a low intensity photon beam and large acceptance detectors. This combination is especially suitable for the investigation of photoprocesses on nucleons and light nuclei. A specific experimental setup for the electron stretcher ring ELSA is presented. (orig.)

Sources of electron contamination for the Clinac-35 25-MV photon beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petti, P.L.; Goodman, M.S.; Sisterson, J.M.; Biggs, P.J.; Gabriel, T.A.; Mohan, R.

1983-01-01

A detailed Monte Carlo approach has been employed to investigate the sources of electron contamination for the 25-MV photon beam generated by Varian's Clinac-35. Three sources of contamination were examined: (a) the flattening filter and beam monitor chamber, (b) the fixed primary collimators downstream from the monitor chamber and the adjustable photon jaws, and (c) the air volume separating the treatment head from the observation point. Five source-to-surface distances (SSDs) were considered for a single field size, 28 cm in diameter at 80 cm SSD. It was found that for small SSDs (80-100 cm), the dominant sources of electron contamination were the flattening filter and the beam monitor chamber which accounted for 70% of the unwanted electrons. Thirteen percent of the remaining electrons originated in the downstream primary collimators and the photon jaws, and 17% were produced in air. At larger SSDs, the fraction of unwanted electrons originating in air increased. At 400 cm SSD, 61% of the contaminating electrons present in the beam were produced in air, 34% originated in the flattening filter and beam monitor chamber, and 5% were due to interactions in the fixed collimators downstream from the monitor chamber and the adjustable photon jaws. These calculated results are substantiated by recent experiments

Monte Carlo-based investigations on the impact of removing the flattening filter on beam quality specifiers for photon beam dosimetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Czarnecki, Damian; Poppe, Björn; Zink, Klemens

2017-06-01

The impact of removing the flattening filter in clinical electron accelerators on the relationship between dosimetric quantities such as beam quality specifiers and the mean photon and electron energies of the photon radiation field was investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. The purpose of this work was to determine the uncertainties when using the well-known beam quality specifiers or energy-based beam specifiers as predictors of dosimetric photon field properties when removing the flattening filter. Monte Carlo simulations applying eight different linear accelerator head models with and without flattening filter were performed in order to generate realistic radiation sources and calculate field properties such as restricted mass collision stopping power ratios (L¯/ρ)airwater, mean photon and secondary electron energies. To study the impact of removing the flattening filter on the beam quality correction factors k Q , this factor for detailed ionization chamber models was calculated by Monte Carlo simulations. Stopping power ratios (L¯/ρ)airwater and k Q values for different ionization chambers as a function of TPR1020 and %dd(10) x were calculated. Moreover, mean photon energies in air and at the point of measurement in water as well as mean secondary electron energies at the point of measurement were calculated. The results revealed that removing the flattening filter led to a change within 0.3% in the relationship between %dd(10) x and (L¯/ρ)airwater, whereby the relationship between TPR1020 and (L¯/ρ)airwater changed up to 0.8% for high energy photon beams. However, TPR1020 was a good predictor of (L¯/ρ)airwater for both types of linear accelerator with energies filter within 1.1% and 1.6% was observed for TPR1020 and %dd(10) x respectively. The results of this study have shown that removing the flattening filter led to a change in the relationship between the well-known beam quality specifiers and dosimetric quantities at the point of measurement

A Polarized High-Energy Photon Beam for Production of Exotic Mesons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Senderovich, Igor [Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)

2012-01-01

This work describes design, prototyping and testing of various components of the Jefferson Lab Hall D photon beamline. These include coherent bremsstrahlung radiators to be used in this facility for generating the photon beam, a fine resolution hodoscope for the facility's tagging spectrometer, and a photon beam position sensor for stabilizing the beam on a collimator. The principal instrumentation project was the hodoscope: its design, implementation and beam testing will be thoroughly described. Studies of the coherent bremsstrahlung radiators involved X-ray characterization of diamond crystals to identify the appropriate line of manufactured radiators and the proper techniques for thinning them to the desired specification of the beamline. The photon beam position sensor project involved completion of a designed detector and its beam test. The results of these shorter studies will also be presented. The second part of this work discusses a Monte Carlo study of a possible photo-production and decay channel in the GlueX experiment that will be housed in the Hall D facility. Specifically, the γ p → Xp → b_{1 π} → ω π⁺¹ π^-1 channel was studied including its Amplitude Analysis. This exercise attempted to generate a possible physics signal, complete with internal angular momentum states, and be able to reconstruct the signal in the detector and find the proper set of JPC quantum numbers through an amplitude fit. Derivation of the proper set of amplitudes in the helicity basis is described, followed by a discussion of the implementation, generation of the data sets, reconstruction techniques, the amplitude fit and results of this study.

Metrology and quality of radiation therapy dosimetry of electron, photon and epithermal neutron beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kosunen, A

1999-08-01

In radiation therapy using electron and photon beams the dosimetry chain consists of several sequential phases starting by the realisation of the dose quantity in the Primary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory and ending to the calculation of the dose to a patient. A similar procedure can be described for the dosimetry of epithermal neutron beams in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). To achieve the required accuracy of the dose delivered to a patient the quality of all steps in the dosimetry procedure has to be considered. This work is focused on two items in the dosimetry chains: the determination of the dose in the reference conditions and the evaluation of the accuracy of dose calculation methods. The issues investigated and discussed in detail are: a)the calibration methods of plane parallel ionisation chambers used in electron beam dosimetry, (b) the specification of the critical dosimetric parameter i.e. the ratio of stopping powers for water to air, (S I ?){sup water} {sub air}, in photon beams, (c) the feasibility of the twin ionization chamber technique for dosimetry in epithermal neutron beams applied to BNCT and (d) the determination accuracy of the calculated dose distributions in phantoms in electron, photon, and epithermal neutron beams. The results demonstrate that up to a 3% improvement in the consistency of dose determinations in electron beams is achieved by the calibration of plane parallel ionisation chambers in high energy electron beams instead of calibrations in {sup 60}Co gamma beams. In photon beam dosimetry (S I ?){sup water} {sub air} can be determined with an accuracy of 0.2% using the percentage dose at the 10 cm depth, %dd(10), as a beam specifier. The use of %odd(10) requires the elimination of the electron contamination in the photon beam. By a twin ionisation chamber technique the gamma dose can be determined with uncertainty of 6% (1 standard deviation) and the total neutron dose with an uncertainty of 15 to 20% (1 standard deviation

Metrology and quality of radiation therapy dosimetry of electron, photon and epithermal neutron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosunen, A.

1999-08-01

In radiation therapy using electron and photon beams the dosimetry chain consists of several sequential phases starting by the realisation of the dose quantity in the Primary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory and ending to the calculation of the dose to a patient. A similar procedure can be described for the dosimetry of epithermal neutron beams in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). To achieve the required accuracy of the dose delivered to a patient the quality of all steps in the dosimetry procedure has to be considered. This work is focused on two items in the dosimetry chains: the determination of the dose in the reference conditions and the evaluation of the accuracy of dose calculation methods. The issues investigated and discussed in detail are: a)the calibration methods of plane parallel ionisation chambers used in electron beam dosimetry, (b) the specification of the critical dosimetric parameter i.e. the ratio of stopping powers for water to air, (S I ?) water air , in photon beams, (c) the feasibility of the twin ionization chamber technique for dosimetry in epithermal neutron beams applied to BNCT and (d) the determination accuracy of the calculated dose distributions in phantoms in electron, photon, and epithermal neutron beams. The results demonstrate that up to a 3% improvement in the consistency of dose determinations in electron beams is achieved by the calibration of plane parallel ionisation chambers in high energy electron beams instead of calibrations in 60 Co gamma beams. In photon beam dosimetry (S I ?) water air can be determined with an accuracy of 0.2% using the percentage dose at the 10 cm depth, %dd(10), as a beam specifier. The use of %odd(10) requires the elimination of the electron contamination in the photon beam. By a twin ionisation chamber technique the gamma dose can be determined with uncertainty of 6% (1 standard deviation) and the total neutron dose with an uncertainty of 15 to 20% (1 standard deviation). To improve the accuracy

Modeling silicon diode energy response factors for use in therapeutic photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Eklund, Karin; Ahnesjö, Anders

2009-10-21

Silicon diodes have good spatial resolution, which makes them advantageous over ionization chambers for dosimetry in fields with high dose gradients. However, silicon diodes overrespond to low-energy photons, that are more abundant in scatter which increase with large fields and larger depths. We present a cavity-theory-based model for a general response function for silicon detectors at arbitrary positions within photon fields. The model uses photon and electron spectra calculated from fluence pencil kernels. The incident photons are treated according to their energy through a bipartition of the primary beam photon spectrum into low- and high-energy components. Primary electrons from the high-energy component are treated according to Spencer-Attix cavity theory. Low-energy primary photons together with all scattered photons are treated according to large cavity theory supplemented with an energy-dependent factor K(E) to compensate for energy variations in the electron equilibrium. The depth variation of the response for an unshielded silicon detector has been calculated for 5 x 5 cm(2), 10 x 10 cm(2) and 20 x 20 cm(2) fields in 6 and 15 MV beams and compared with measurements showing that our model calculates response factors with deviations less than 0.6%. An alternative method is also proposed, where we show that one can use a correlation with the scatter factor to determine the detector response of silicon diodes with an error of less than 3% in 6 MV and 15 MV photon beams.

Modeling silicon diode energy response factors for use in therapeutic photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eklund, Karin; Ahnesjoe, Anders

2009-01-01

Silicon diodes have good spatial resolution, which makes them advantageous over ionization chambers for dosimetry in fields with high dose gradients. However, silicon diodes overrespond to low-energy photons, that are more abundant in scatter which increase with large fields and larger depths. We present a cavity-theory-based model for a general response function for silicon detectors at arbitrary positions within photon fields. The model uses photon and electron spectra calculated from fluence pencil kernels. The incident photons are treated according to their energy through a bipartition of the primary beam photon spectrum into low- and high-energy components. Primary electrons from the high-energy component are treated according to Spencer-Attix cavity theory. Low-energy primary photons together with all scattered photons are treated according to large cavity theory supplemented with an energy-dependent factor K(E) to compensate for energy variations in the electron equilibrium. The depth variation of the response for an unshielded silicon detector has been calculated for 5 x 5 cm 2 , 10 x 10 cm 2 and 20 x 20 cm 2 fields in 6 and 15 MV beams and compared with measurements showing that our model calculates response factors with deviations less than 0.6%. An alternative method is also proposed, where we show that one can use a correlation with the scatter factor to determine the detector response of silicon diodes with an error of less than 3% in 6 MV and 15 MV photon beams.

The quasi-monochromatic photon beam used in photoneutron experiments from 20-120 MeV at the 600 MeV Saclay Linac

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veyssiere, A.; Beil, H.; Bergere, R.; Carlos, P.; Fagot, J.; Lepretre, A.; Ahrens, J.

1979-01-01

A beam of 20-130 MeV positrons, with average intensities between 10 nA and 50 nA, is used at the 600 MeV Saclay Linac to create a quasi-monochromatic photon beam with a continuously variable energy. This beam was used to measure photoneutron cross sections and the corresponding photonuclear facility is first described. The computer-controlled methods, implemented to measure the energy spectrum and the emittance of the positron beam are described. The quasi-monochromatic photon lines are produced by the annihilation in flight of monoenergetic positrons in two annihilation radiators with different Z successively. The photon beam emission angle theta is shown to be the most critical parameter in the search for an optimum overall signal to background ratio for a specific photoneutron experiment. The choice of an angle theta approximately 4 0 is explained for absolute measurements of sigma(γ, xn) cross-sections, for which the used average intensities of monochromatic photons were thus purposely reduced to approximately 5 X 10 3 s -1 , with an energy resolution approximately 12%. (Auth.)

Study of dose distribution in high energy photon beam used in radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafaravavy, R.; Raoelina Andriambololona; Bridier, A.

2007-01-01

The dose distribution in a medium traversed by a photon beam depends on beam energy, field size and medium nature. Percent depth dose (PDD), Dose Profile (DP) and Opening Collimator Factor (OCF) curves will be established to study this distribution. So, the PDD curves are composed by tree parts: the build-up region, the maximal dose and the quasi-equilibrium region. The maximum dose depth and the dose in depth increase with increasing photon beam energy but the dose surface decreases. The PDD increases with increasing field size.

Comparison of Techniques to Reduce Bremsstrahlung Background Radiation from Monoenergetic Photon Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, M; McNabb, D

2006-01-01

An important applied technology is a tunable mono-energetic photon source [1]. These sources are made of relativistic electron accelerators coupled to low-energy lasers, which produce high-energy, mono-energetic-rays. One challenge associated with systems such as this is a continuum of bremsstrahlung background created when an electron beam passes through an aperture of some sort and the electron bunch or its halo impinges on the aperture pictured in figure 1. For instance, in the current T-REX [1] design for the interaction point between the laser- and electron-beam, the electron-beam passes through the center of a mirror used to reflect the laser. There is a potential with this design that bremsstrahlung radiation may be produced at the edges of the mirror openings and contaminate the mono-energetic photon beam. Certain applications [2] may be sensitive to this contamination. To reduce the bremsstrahlung contaminate a collimator (thickness ∼24in. (calculated from XCOM database [3]) to attenuate by a factor of 10 -3 the 112MeV photons expected in the T-REX demonstration [1]) is situated between the aperture and target. To maximize the brightness of the photon-beam, the collimator opening must be no less than the size of the photon-beam spot size expected to be about 1mm. This fixes the collimator opening. a priori the aperture size must be greater than the collimator opening and is a function distance between the aperture and collimator. In this paper we focus on two approaches to estimate the aperture size, given a collimator and a target whose sizes and distances from the aperture are given. In the next section we will discuss these approaches

Establishing the impact of temporary tissue expanders on electron and photon beam dose distributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Asena, A; Kairn, T; Crowe, S B; Trapp, J V

2015-05-01

This study investigates the effects of temporary tissue expanders (TTEs) on the dose distributions in breast cancer radiotherapy treatments under a variety of conditions. Using EBT2 radiochromic film, both electron and photon beam dose distribution measurements were made for different phantoms, and beam geometries. This was done to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the implant's perturbation effects under a wider variety of conditions. The magnetic disk present in a tissue expander causes a dose reduction of approximately 20% in a photon tangent treatment and 56% in electron boost fields immediately downstream of the implant. The effects of the silicon elastomer are also much more apparent in an electron beam than a photon beam. Evidently, each component of the TTE attenuates the radiation beam to different degrees. This study has demonstrated that the accuracy of photon and electron treatments of post-mastectomy patients is influenced by the presence of a tissue expander for various beam orientations. The impact of TTEs on dose distributions establishes the importance of an accurately modelled high-density implant in the treatment planning system for post-mastectomy patients. Copyright © 2015 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An EXAFS spectrometer on beam line 10B at the Photon Factory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyanagi, Hiroyuki; Matsushita, Tadashi; Ito, Masahisa; Kuroda, Haruo.

1984-03-01

An EXAFS spectrometer installed on the beam line 10B at the Photon Factory is designed to cover the photon energy between 4 and 30 keV. Utilizing either a channel-cut or two flat silicon crystals as a monochromator, a beam intensity between 10 8 and 10 9 photons/sec is obtained at 9 keV with a resolution of 1 eV. The performance of the spectrometer, such as a signal-to-noise ratio or an energy resolution is demonstrated with examples of K edge absorption spectra of bromine, germanium, gallium arsenide, and zinc selenide. (author)

Polarised Photon Beams for the BGO-OD Experiment at ELSA

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, T.; Bella, A.; Alef, S.; Bayadilov, D.; Beck, R.; Becker, M.; Bielefeldt, P.; Boese, S.; Braghieri, A.; Brinkmann, K.; Cole, P.; Curciarello, F.; De Leo, V.; Di Salvo, R.; Dutz, H.; Elsner, D.; Fantini, A.; Freyermuth, O.; Friedrich, S.; Frommberger, F.; Ganenko, V.; Gervino, G.; Ghio, F.; Giardina, G.; Goertz, S.; Gridnev, A.; Gutz, E.; Hammann, D.; Hannappel, J.; Hartmann, P.; Hillert, W.; Ignatov, A.; Jahn, R.; Joosten, R.; Jude, T. C.; Klein, F.; Koop, K.; Krusche, B.; Lapik, A.; Levi Sandri, P.; Lopatin, I. V.; Mandaglio, G.; Messi, F.; Messi, R.; Metag, V.; Moricciani, D.; Mushkarenkov, A.; Nanova, M.; Nedorezov, V.; Novinskiy, D.; Pedroni, P.; Reitz, B.; Romaniuk, M.; Rostomyan, T.; Rudnev, N.; Schaerf, C.; Scheluchin, G.; Schmieden, H.; Stugelev, A.; Sumachev, V.; Tarakanov, V.; Vegna, V.; Walther, D.; Watts, D.; Zaunick, H.

The new BGO-OD experiment at the electron accelerator ELSA, of the University of Bonn, is designed to study the reaction dynamics of nucleon excitations in meson photoproduction. It consists of a central BGO calorimeter with a magnetic spectrometer in forward direction. The physics programme includes the measurement of polarisation observables using linearly and circularly polarised photon beams. Linear polarisation is obtained by coherent bremsstrahlung off a diamond crystal, and circular polarisation is obtained via bremsstrahlung from longitudinally polarised electrons. The degree of linear polarisation is determined from the bremsstrahlung spectrum itself. To determine the polarisation of the circularly polarised photon beam, the polarisation of the electron beam is measured by a Møller polarimeter. As a preliminary consistency check, the (linear) polarisation observable, Σ, was compared to world data for π0 and η photoproduction. To determine the degree of circular polarisation, a Møller polarimeter was setup and first measurements of the electron beam polarisation performed.

Scattering of thermal photons by a 46 GeV positron beam at LEP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bini, C.; De Zorzi, G.; Diambrini-Palazzi, G.; Di Cosimo, G.; Di Domenico, A.; Gauzzi, P.; Zanello, D.

1991-01-01

The scattering of thermal photons present in the vacuum pipe of LEP against the high energy positron beam has been detected. The spectrum of the back-scattered photons is presented for a positron beam energy of 46.1 GeV. Measurements have been performed in the interaction region 1 with the LEP-5 experiment calorimeter. (orig.)

Creating aperiodic photonic structures by synthesized Mathieu-Gauss beams

Science.gov (United States)

Vasiljević, Jadranka M.; Zannotti, Alessandro; Timotijević, Dejan V.; Denz, Cornelia; Savić, Dragana M. Jović

2017-08-01

We demonstrate a kind of aperiodic photonic structure realized using the interference of multiple Mathieu-Gauss beams. Depending on the beam configurations, their mutual distances, angles of rotation, or phase relations we are able to observe different classes of such aperiodic optically induced refractive index structures. Our experimental approach is based on the optical induction in a single parallel writing process.

Photon beam asymmetry Σ for η and η′ photoproduction from the proton

OpenAIRE

P. Collins; B.G. Ritchie; M. Dugger; A.V. Anisovich; M. Döring; E. Klempt; V.A. Nikonov; D. Rönchen; D. Sadasivan; A. Sarantsev; K.P. Adhikari; Z. Akbar; M.J. Amaryan; S. Anefalos Pereira; H. Avakian

2017-01-01

Measurements of the linearly-polarized photon beam asymmetry $\\Sigma$ for photoproduction from the proton of $\\eta$ and $\\eta^\\prime$ mesons are reported. A linearly-polarized tagged photon beam produced by coherent bremsstrahlung was incident on a cryogenic hydrogen target within the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer. Results are presented for the $\\gamma p \\to \\eta p$ reaction for incident photon energies from 1.070 to 1.876 GeV, and from 1.516 to 1.836 GeV for the $\\gamma p \\to \\eta^\\pri...

Resonant production of dark photons in positron beam dump experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Nardi, Enrico; Carvajal, Cristian D. R.; Ghoshal, Anish; Meloni, Davide; Raggi, Mauro

2018-05-01

Positrons beam dump experiments have unique features to search for very narrow resonances coupled superweakly to e+e- pairs. Due to the continued loss of energy from soft photon bremsstrahlung, in the first few radiation lengths of the dump a positron beam can continuously scan for resonant production of new resonances via e+ annihilation off an atomic e- in the target. In the case of a dark photon A' kinetically mixed with the photon, this production mode is of first order in the electromagnetic coupling α , and thus parametrically enhanced with respect to the O (α2)e+e-→γ A' production mode and to the O (α3)A' bremsstrahlung in e- -nucleon scattering so far considered. If the lifetime is sufficiently long to allow the A' to exit the dump, A'→e+e- decays could be easily detected and distinguished from backgrounds. We explore the foreseeable sensitivity of the Frascati PADME experiment in searching with this technique for the 17 MeV dark photon invoked to explain the Be 8 anomaly in nuclear transitions.

Electron and photon spread contributions to the radiological penumbra for small monoenergetic x-ray beam (<=2 MeV)

Science.gov (United States)

Pignol, Jean-Philippe; Keller, Brian M.

2009-05-01

Our team has previously published that submegavoltage photons could significantly improve the radiological penumbra for small size radiation fields. The present work uses Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the contributions of secondary electrons and photon scatter to the penumbra region for various field sizes (5, 10, 20, and 40 mm in diameters) and for various monoenergetic photon beams (200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 2000 keV, and a standard 6 MV beam), minimizing geometrical and transmission penumbra. For field sizes less than 2 cm in diameter, photon scatter is negligible such that the secondary electrons are the main contributor to the radiological penumbra. Reducing the photon beam energy to the submegavoltage range reduces the range of secondary electrons and eventually improves the beam boundary sharpness. Provided that the geometrical penumbra and patient immobilization system are optimized, submegavoltage photon beams with effective photon energies in the 300 to 600 keV range, present significant advantages for multiple beam stereotactic irradiations of tumors less than 2 cm in diameter.

Commissioning measurements for photon beam data on three TrueBeam linear accelerators, and comparison with Trilogy and Clinac 2100 linear accelerators

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

This study presents the beam data measurement results from the commissioning of three TrueBeam linear accelerators. An additional evaluation of the measured beam data within the TrueBeam linear accelerators contrasted with two other linear accelerators from the same manufacturer (i.e., Clinac and Trilogy) was performed to identify and evaluate any differences in the beam characteristics between the machines and to evaluate the possibility of beam matching for standard photon energies. We performed a comparison of commissioned photon beam data for two standard photon energies (6 MV and 15 MV) and one flattening filter‐free (“FFF”) photon energy (10 FFF) between three different TrueBeam linear accelerators. An analysis of the beam data was then performed to evaluate the reproducibility of the results and the possibility of “beam matching” between the TrueBeam linear accelerators. Additionally, the data from the TrueBeam linear accelerator was compared with comparable data obtained from one Clinac and one Trilogy linear accelerator models produced by the same manufacturer to evaluate the possibility of “beam matching” between the TrueBeam linear accelerators and the previous models. The energies evaluated between the linear accelerator models are the 6 MV for low energy and the 15 MV for high energy. PDD and output factor data showed less than 1% variation and profile data showed variations within 1% or 2 mm between the three TrueBeam linear accelerators. PDD and profile data between the TrueBeam, the Clinac, and Trilogy linear accelerators were almost identical (less than 1% variation). Small variations were observed in the shape of the profile for 15 MV at shallow depths (linear accelerators; the TrueBeam data resulted in a slightly greater penumbra width. The diagonal scans demonstrated significant differences in the profile shapes at a distance greater than 20 cm from the central axis, and this was more notable for the 15 MV energy. Output factor

Cardiac single-photon emission-computed tomography using combined cone-beam/fan-beam collimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gullberg, Grant T.; Zeng, Gengsheng L.

2004-01-01

The objective of this work is to increase system sensitivity in cardiac single-photon emission-computed tomography (SPECT) studies without increasing patient imaging time. For imaging the heart, convergent collimation offers the potential of increased sensitivity over that of parallel-hole collimation. However, if a cone-beam collimated gamma camera is rotated in a planar orbit, the projection data obtained are not complete. Two cone-beam collimators and one fan-beam collimator are used with a three-detector SPECT system. The combined cone-beam/fan-beam collimation provides a complete set of data for image reconstruction. The imaging geometry is evaluated using data acquired from phantom and patient studies. For the Jaszazck cardiac torso phantom experiment, the combined cone-beam/fan-beam collimation provided 1.7 times greater sensitivity than standard parallel-hole collimation (low-energy high-resolution collimators). Also, phantom and patient comparison studies showed improved image quality. The combined cone-beam/fan-beam imaging geometry with appropriate weighting of the two data sets provides improved system sensitivity while measuring sufficient data for artifact free cardiac images

On beam quality and flatness of radiotherapy megavoltage photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hossain, Murshed; Rhoades, Jeffrey

2016-01-01

Ratio of percentage depth dose (PDD) at two depths, PDD at a depth of 10 cm (PDD 10 ), and beam flatness are monitored regularly for radiotherapy beams for quality assurance. The purpose of this study is to understand the effects of changes in one of these parameters on the other. Is it possible to monitor only the beam flatness and not PDD? The investigation has two components. Naturally occurring i.e., unintended changes in PDD ratio and in-plane flatness for 6 and 10 MV photon beams for one particular Siemens Artiste Linac are monitored for a period of about 4 years. Secondly, deliberate changes in the beam parameters are induced by changing the bending magnet current (BMI). Relationships between various beam parameters for unintended changes as well as deliberate changes are characterized. Long term unintentional changes of PDD ratio are found to have no systematic trend. The flatness in the in plane direction for 6 and 10 MV beams show slow increase of 0.43 and 0.75 % respectively in about 4 years while the changes in the PDD ratio show no such trend. Over 10 % changes in BMI are required to induce changes in the beam quality indices at 2 % level. PDD ratio for the 10 MV beam is found to be less sensitive, while the depth of maximum dose, d max , is more sensitive to the changes in BMI compared to the 6 MV beam. Tolerances are more stringent for PDD 10 than PDD ratio for the 10 MV beam. PDD ratio, PDD 10 , and flatness must be monitored independently. Furthermore, off axis ratio alone cannot be used to monitor flatness. The effect of beam quality change in the absolute dose is clinically insignificant.

On the absorbed dose determination method in high energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarlat, F.; Scarisoreanu, A.; Oane, M.; Mitru, E.; Avadanei, C.

2008-01-01

The absorbed dose determination method in water, based on standards of air kerma or exposure in high energy photon beams generated by electron with energies in the range of 1 MeV to 50 MeV is presented herein. The method is based on IAEA-398, AAPM TG-51, DIN 6800-2, IAEA-381, IAEA-277 and NACP-80 recommendations. The dosimetry equipment is composed of UNIDOS T 10005 electrometer and different ionization chambers calibrated in air kerma method in a Co 60 beam. Starting from the general formalism showed in IAEA-381, the determination of absorbed dose in water, under reference conditions in high energy photon beams, is given. This method was adopted for the secondary standard dosimetry laboratory (SSDL) in NILPRP-Bucharest

A Liquid Scintillator System for Dosimetry of Photon and Proton Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beddar S

2010-01-01

We have developed a 3D system based on liquid scintillator (LS) for the dosimetry of photon and proton therapy. We have validated the LS detector system for fast and accurate quality assurance of IMRT and proton therapy fields. Further improvements are required to optimize the quantitative analysis of the light output provided by the system in photon beams. We have also demonstrated its usefulness for protons as it can determine the position and the range of proton beams. This system has also been shown to be capable of fast, sub-millimeter spatial localization of proton spots delivered in a 3D volume and could be used for quality assurance of IMPT. Further developments are on-going to measure beam intensities in 3D.

Determining clinical photon beam spectra from measured depth dose with the Cimmino algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bloch, P.; Altschuler, M.D.; Bjaerngard, B.E.; Kassaee, A.; McDonough, J.

2000-01-01

A method to determine the spectrum of a clinical photon beam from measured depth-dose data is described. At shallow depths, where the range of Compton-generated electrons increases rapidly with photon energy, the depth dose provides the information to discriminate the spectral contributions. To minimize the influence of contaminating electrons, small (6x6cm2 ) fields were used. The measured depth dose is represented as a linear combination of basis functions, namely the depth doses of monoenergetic photon beams derived by Monte Carlo simulations. The weights of the basis functions were obtained with the Cimmino feasibility algorithm, which examines in each iteration the discrepancy between predicted and measured depth dose. For 6 and 15 MV photon beams of a clinical accelerator, the depth dose obtained from the derived spectral weights was within about 1% of the measured depth dose at all depths. Because the problem is ill conditioned, solutions for the spectrum can fluctuate with energy. Physically realistic smooth spectra for these photon beams appeared when a small margin (about ±1%) was attributed to the measured depth dose. The maximum energy of both derived spectra agreed with the measured energy of the electrons striking the target to within 1 MeV. The use of a feasibility method on minimally relaxed constraints provides realistic spectra quickly and interactively. (author)

An ultrasound system for simultaneous ultrasound hyperthermia and photon beam irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Straube, William L.; Moros, Eduardo G.; Low, Daniel A.; Klein, Eric E.; Willcut, Virgil M.; Myerson, Robert J.

1996-01-01

Purpose: An existing ultrasound system has been adapted for simultaneous use with external photon beam irradiation. The system is being used to investigate the potential for increased biological benefit of simultaneously combined hyperthermia and external beam irradiation with currently achievable temperature distributions. Methods and Materials: An existing clinical ultrasound system has been modified for simultaneous operation with a 60 Co teletherapy machine. The generator, thermometry system, computer, and applicators are located inside the treatment room, while the monitor and system control are located at the control console. Two approaches have been used clinically to combine the two modalities. In the first approach, an en-face setup is used in which the ultrasound beam and the photon beam travel through the same window of entry to the tumor. This is achieved by a reflecting system designed to deflect the ultrasound to the tumor while positioning the ultrasound transducer outside the radiation beam. The reflecting system consists of water and water-equivalent materials except for a 1 mm sheet of polished brass that is used as the reflector. The relative pressure fields were measured in water at the same distance from the ultrasound source using a scanning hydrophone with and without the reflector at the two operating frequencies of the device (1.0 and 3.4 MHz) for two applicators. Radiation dosimetry measurements were performed to determine the relationship between 60 Co irradiation through the reflector and absorbed dose. In the second approach the ultrasound and the radiation beam travel into the tumor from different windows of entry such that the radiation beam passes through no portion of the water bolus prior to entering the patient. We have termed this approach the orthogonal approach. For both approaches, the radiation fraction is given in the middle of an uninterrupted 60-min hyperthermia treatment. Results: The system modifications did not impair

Dosimetric characteristics of a new unshielded silicon diode and its application in clinical photon and electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griessbach, Irmgard; Lapp, Markus; Bohsung, Joerg; Gademann, Guenther; Harder, Dietrich

2005-01-01

Shielded p-silicon diodes, frequently applied in general photon-beam dosimetry, show certain imperfections when applied in the small photon fields occurring in stereotactic or intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), in electron beams and in the buildup region of photon beam dose distributions. Using as a study object the shielded p-silicon diode PTW 60008, well known for its reliable performance in general photon dosimetry, we have identified these imperfections as effects of electron scattering at the metallic parts of the shielding. In order to overcome these difficulties a new, unshielded diode PTW 60012 has been designed and manufactured by PTW Freiburg. By comparison with reference detectors, such as thimble and plane-parallel ionization chambers and a diamond detector, we could show the absence of these imperfections. An excellent performance of the new unshielded diode for the special dosimetric tasks in small photon fields, electron beams and build-up regions of photon beams has been observed. The new diode also has an improved angular response. However, due to its over-response to low-energy scattered photons, its recommended range of use does not include output factor measurements in large photon fields, although this effect can be compensated by a thin auxiliary lead shield

Dose calculation methods in photon beam therapy using energy deposition kernels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahnesjoe, A.

1991-01-01

The problem of calculating accurate dose distributions in treatment planning of megavoltage photon radiation therapy has been studied. New dose calculation algorithms using energy deposition kernels have been developed. The kernels describe the transfer of energy by secondary particles from a primary photon interaction site to its surroundings. Monte Carlo simulations of particle transport have been used for derivation of kernels for primary photon energies form 0.1 MeV to 50 MeV. The trade off between accuracy and calculational speed has been addressed by the development of two algorithms; one point oriented with low computional overhead for interactive use and one for fast and accurate calculation of dose distributions in a 3-dimensional lattice. The latter algorithm models secondary particle transport in heterogeneous tissue by scaling energy deposition kernels with the electron density of the tissue. The accuracy of the methods has been tested using full Monte Carlo simulations for different geometries, and found to be superior to conventional algorithms based on scaling of broad beam dose distributions. Methods have also been developed for characterization of clinical photon beams in entities appropriate for kernel based calculation models. By approximating the spectrum as laterally invariant, an effective spectrum and dose distribution for contaminating charge particles are derived form depth dose distributions measured in water, using analytical constraints. The spectrum is used to calculate kernels by superposition of monoenergetic kernels. The lateral energy fluence distribution is determined by deconvolving measured lateral dose distributions by a corresponding pencil beam kernel. Dose distributions for contaminating photons are described using two different methods, one for estimation of the dose outside of the collimated beam, and the other for calibration of output factors derived from kernel based dose calculations. (au)

Fission product yield measurements using monoenergetic photon beams

Science.gov (United States)

Krishichayan; Bhike, M.; Tonchev, A. P.; Tornow, W.

2017-09-01

Measurements of fission products yields (FPYs) are an important source of information on the fission process. During the past couple of years, a TUNL-LANL-LLNL collaboration has provided data on the FPYs from quasi monoenergetic neutron-induced fission on 235U, 238U, and 239Pu and has revealed an unexpected energy dependence of both asymmetric fission fragments at energies below 4 MeV. This peculiar FPY energy dependence was more pronounced in neutron-induced fission of 239Pu. In an effort to understand and compare the effect of the incoming probe on the FPY distribution, we have carried out monoenergetic photon-induced fission experiments on the same 235U, 238U, and 239Pu targets. Monoenergetic photon beams of Eγ = 13.0 MeV were provided by the HIγS facility, the world's most intense γ-ray source. In order to determine the total number of fission events, a dual-fission chamber was used during the irradiation. These irradiated samples were counted at the TUNL's low-background γ-ray counting facility using high efficient HPGe detectors over a period of 10 weeks. Here we report on our first ever photofission product yield measurements obtained with monoenegetic photon beams. These results are compared with neutron-induced FPY data.

Fission product yield measurements using monoenergetic photon beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krishichayan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Measurements of fission products yields (FPYs are an important source of information on the fission process. During the past couple of years, a TUNL-LANL-LLNL collaboration has provided data on the FPYs from quasi monoenergetic neutron-induced fission on 235U, 238U, and 239Pu and has revealed an unexpected energy dependence of both asymmetric fission fragments at energies below 4 MeV. This peculiar FPY energy dependence was more pronounced in neutron-induced fission of 239Pu. In an effort to understand and compare the effect of the incoming probe on the FPY distribution, we have carried out monoenergetic photon-induced fission experiments on the same 235U, 238U, and 239Pu targets. Monoenergetic photon beams of Eγ = 13.0 MeV were provided by the HIγS facility, the world's most intense γ-ray source. In order to determine the total number of fission events, a dual-fission chamber was used during the irradiation. These irradiated samples were counted at the TUNL's low-background γ-ray counting facility using high efficient HPGe detectors over a period of 10 weeks. Here we report on our first ever photofission product yield measurements obtained with monoenegetic photon beams. These results are compared with neutron-induced FPY data.

Ultracompact multiway beam splitters using multiple coupled photonic crystal waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Tianbao; Zhou Haifeng; Yang Jianyi; Jiang Xiaoqing; Wang Minghua; Gong Zhao

2008-01-01

Ultracompact 1 x N (N > 2) beam splitters based on coupling of multiple photonic crystal waveguides (PCWs) are numerically demonstrated. The operation of the devices is on the basis of the self-imaging phenomenon. Variation of the effective index of modified rods induces the transverse redistribution of the N-fold images with the same coupling length, and uniform or free splitting can be achieved. The devices with three and four output channels are discussed in details as examples. Results show that this kind of beam splitters are very short. At the operating wavelength of 1.55 μm, the splitting length of the devices is only 35 μm even if the output channel number reaches 20. It provides a new method and a compact model to export freely the beam to N channels in PCW devices and can find practical applications in future photonic integrated circuits

Ultracompact multiway beam splitters using multiple coupled photonic crystal waveguides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu Tianbao; Zhou Haifeng; Yang Jianyi; Jiang Xiaoqing; Wang Minghua [Department of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310027 Hangzhou (China); Gong Zhao [Zhejiang University City College, 310027 Hangzhou (China)

2008-05-07

Ultracompact 1 x N (N > 2) beam splitters based on coupling of multiple photonic crystal waveguides (PCWs) are numerically demonstrated. The operation of the devices is on the basis of the self-imaging phenomenon. Variation of the effective index of modified rods induces the transverse redistribution of the N-fold images with the same coupling length, and uniform or free splitting can be achieved. The devices with three and four output channels are discussed in details as examples. Results show that this kind of beam splitters are very short. At the operating wavelength of 1.55 {mu}m, the splitting length of the devices is only 35 {mu}m even if the output channel number reaches 20. It provides a new method and a compact model to export freely the beam to N channels in PCW devices and can find practical applications in future photonic integrated circuits.

Radiobiological Characterization of Two Photon-Beam Energies 6 and 15 MV used in Radiotherapy From Linear Accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eltayeb, A.E.H.

2009-02-01

The main objective of this study is to perform radiobiological characterization of two different photon beam energies, 6 MV and 15 MV, from linear accelerator used in radiotherapy, with special regard to late effects of radiation. Two end-points, namely cell survival and micronucleus induction were used for the characterization. Chinese hamster V 79 lung fibroblast cell line to prepare cell culture and to perform the innervate experiments. chromosomes number was counted and found to be 22 chromosomes per cell, this result is in complete agreement with expected 11 pairs of chromosomes representing the genome of this species. Cells were kept in confluent growth for two days and then exposed to two photon beam energies, 6 and 15 MV respectively. Different dose rates were used for the two beam energies, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 7.0 Gy. Cells were counted immediately after irradiation and re seeded, the seeded number of cells was calculated to the dose rate used. Another set of unirradiated cells treated the same as the experimental set was used as a control group. The plating efficiency (PE) was calculated for the control group, then cells were incubated at 37 o C for 6 days to construct the survival curve, five samples were counted per dose and the mean was calculated. The two survival curves are similar for photon beam energies (6 and 15 MV) and the surviving fraction was decreased with dose rate. The two curves showed similar values of α and β parameters, this result is expected for the same radiation type (X-ray). For the micronuclei assay three samples for each dose were seeded and incubated at 37 o C for 24 hours then Cytochalasin-B was added to block cells in cytokinesis phase of the mitosis. The micronuclei number was counted and plotted with dose. A significant positive correlation was found between dose and micronuclei frequency (P=0.00), moreover, the micronuclei frequency is relatively higher with 15 MV compared with 6 MV energy. This indicates the

Postal dosimetry audit test for small photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Espinosa, María del Mar; Núñez, Luis; Muñiz, José Luis; Lagares, Juan Ignacio; Embid, Miguel; Gómez-Ros, José María

2012-01-01

Background and purpose: Small radiation beams ( 3 ) of TLD-100 inserted at 5 and 10 cm of depth in a cylindrical PMMA phantom designed for this purpose. This experimental system is mailed to the audited centres to be irradiated with beams of 1 and 3 cm of side or diameter. The prescribeddose is 1.5 Gy at 10 cm. The properties of this system were studied experimentally and by Monte Carlo (MC) simulation, before the external test. Results: Deviations between the prescribed and measured absorbed doses are below 5% for 69% (1 × 1 cm 2 beam) and 64% (3 × 3 cm 2 beam) of the audited centres. When deviations are above 5%, their causes have been investigated and led to corrections. Conclusion: The developed postal audit is suitable to verify the absorbed doses in small photon beams with an accuracy of 2.9% (1s).

Dosimetric evaluation of fattening filter free photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lechner, W.

2014-01-01

Very recently, conventional treatment machines able to deliver flattening filter free photon have been introduced into clinical practice. An Elekta Pricise linear accelerator LINAC which was able to deliver 6MV and 10 MV flattened (FF) and flattening filter free (FFF) photon beams was used throughout this work. The investigated modalities were 9-Field intensity modulated radiotherapy (Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT)) and 360° - single arc volumetric modulated arc therapy (Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT)) with flattened and unflattened photon beams. For treatment plan evaluation the concept of Pareto optimal fronts was employed. Additionally, the efficiency of these modalities was assessed. The evaluation of the treatment plan quality showed no significant difference between FF- and FFF-beams. With respect to treatment plan efficiency, a significant decrease of delivery time of IMRT treatment plans without flattening filter compared to those with filter was found. On average, the delivery time decreased by 18% and 4% for prostate and head-and-neck cases, respectively. In contrast to that, the delivery time of VMAT treatment plans without flatting filter was significantly increased by 22% and 16% for prostate and head- and-neck cases, respectively. The applicability of 14 different detectors to small field dosimetry in FF- as well as in FFF-beams was investigated by measuring output factors of 6MV and 10 MV FF- and FFF- beams. An additional MLC was attached to the treatment machine in order to generate field sizes between 0.6x0.6 cm 2 and 10x10 cm 2 . Alanine pellets were used as reference detectors for the calculation of correction factors for small field dosimetry. Compared to alanine, the solid sate detectors and the liquid filled ionization chamber generally overestimated the output factors of small fields, whereas the air filled ionzation chambers underestimated the output factors. For the shielded diodes the correction factors ranged between 8

The APS x-ray undulator photon beam position monitor and tests at CHESS and NSLS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, D.; Rodricks, B.; Barraza, J.; Sanchez, T.; Kuzay, T.M.

1992-01-01

The advent of third generation synchrotron radiation sources, like the Advanced Photon Source (APS), will provide significant increases in brilliance over existing synchrotron sources. The APS x-ray undulators will increase the brilliance in the 3-40 KeV range by several orders of magnitude. Thus, the design of the photon beam position monitor is a challenging engineering task. The beam position monitors must withstand the high thermal load, be able to achieve sub-micron spatial resolution while maintaining their stability, and be compatible with both undulators and wigglers. A preliminary APS prototype photon beam position monitor consisting of a CVD-diamond-based, tungsten-coated blade was tested on the APS/CHESS undulator at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Radiation Source (CHESS) and on the NSLS X-13 undulator beamline. Results from these tests, as well as the design of this prototype APS photon beam position monitor, will be discussed in this paper

The APS X-ray undulator photon beam position monitor and tests at CHESS and NSLS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, D.; Rodricks, B.; Barraza, J.; Sanchez, T.; Kuzay, T.M.

1992-01-01

The advent of thirs generation synchrotron sources, like the Advanced Photon Source (APS), will provide significant increases in brilliance over existing synchrotron sources. The APS X-ray undulators will increase the brilliance in the 3-40 keV range by several orders of magnitude. Thus, the design of the photon beam position monitor is a challenging engineering task. The beam position monitors must withstand the high thermal load, be able to achieve submicron spatial resolution while maintaining their stability, and be compatible with both undulators and wigglers. A preliminary APS prototype photon beam position monitor consisting of a CVD-diamond-based, tungsten-coated blade was tested on the APS/CHESS undulator at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Radiation Source (CHESS) and on the NSLS X-13 undulator beamline. Results from these tests, as well as the design of this prototype APS photon beam position monitor, will be discussed in this paper. (orig.)

Characteristics of mobile MOSFET dosimetry system for megavoltage photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, A Sathish; Sharma, S D; Ravindran, B Paul

2014-07-01

The characteristics of a mobile metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (mobile MOSFET) detector for standard bias were investigated for megavoltage photon beams. This study was performed with a brass alloy build-up cap for three energies namely Co-60, 6 and 15 MV photon beams. The MOSFETs were calibrated and the performance characteristics were analyzed with respect to dose rate dependence, energy dependence, field size dependence, linearity, build-up factor, and angular dependence for all the three energies. A linear dose-response curve was noted for Co-60, 6 MV, and 15 MV photons. The calibration factors were found to be 1.03, 1, and 0.79 cGy/mV for Co-60, 6 MV, and 15 MV photon energies, respectively. The calibration graph has been obtained to the dose up to 600 cGy, and the dose-response curve was found to be linear. The MOSFETs were found to be energy independent both for measurements performed at depth as well as on the surface with build-up. However, field size dependence was also analyzed for variable field sizes and found to be field size independent. Angular dependence was analyzed by keeping the MOSFET dosimeter in parallel and perpendicular orientation to the angle of incidence of the radiation with and without build-up on the surface of the phantom. The maximum variation for the three energies was found to be within ± 2% for the gantry angles 90° and 270°, the deviations without the build-up for the same gantry angles were found to be 6%, 25%, and 60%, respectively. The MOSFET response was found to be independent of dose rate for all three energies. The dosimetric characteristics of the MOSFET detector make it a suitable in vivo dosimeter for megavoltage photon beams.

Design of a compact polarizing beam splitter based on a photonic crystal ring resonator with a triangular lattice.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Tianbao; Huang, Jiehui; Liu, Nianhua; Yang, Jianyi; Liao, Qinghua; Jiang, Xiaoqing

2010-04-10

We propose and simulate a new kind of compact polarizing beam splitter (PBS) based on a photonic crystal ring resonator (PCRR) with complete photonic bandgaps. The two polarized states are separated far enough by resonant and nonresonant coupling between the waveguide modes and the microring modes. Some defect holes are utilized to control the beam propagation. The simulated results obtained by the finite-difference time-domain method show that high transmission (over 95%) is obtained and the polarization separation is realized with a length as short as 3.1 microm. The design of the proposed PBS can be flexible, thanks to the advantages of PCRRs.

Simulation study of the photon quality correction factors of ionization chambers for FiR 1 epithermal neutron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koivunoro, H.; Uusi-Simola, J.; Savolainen, S.; Kotiluoto, P.; Auterinen, I.; Kosunen, A.

2006-01-01

At FiR 1 BNCT facility in Finland, neutron-insensitive Mg(Ar) ionization chambers are used for photon dose measurements in an epithermal neutron beam. Previously, photon sensitivity factors for the chamber for the measurements in a water phantom in FiR 1 beam have been determined experimentally from measurements in 60 Co gamma and in a 6 MV clinical accelerator photon beams. However, the response of the ionization chamber in a water phantom depends on energy spectrum and angle of the photons and the secondary electrons created inside the phantom and may differ depending on type of the irradiation source (accelerator vs. an epithermal neutron beam). Also, the experimental sensitivity factor does not take into account the possible perturbations in the photon production in phantom caused by the ionization chamber materials. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the photon quality correction factors (k Qγ ) for the Mg(Ar) chamber at the FiR 1 beam through computer simulations. In this study, the k Qγ factors have been determined for Mg(Ar) chamber from Monte Carlo calculations of absorbed photon dose at two depths in a water phantom using MCNP code. The k qγ factors obtained with this method are compared to the sensitivity factors determined with measurements in an accelerator photon beam and to the k Qγ factors published previously. (author)

Electro-mechanical control of an on-chip optical beam splitter containing an embedded quantum emitter.

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Z K; Foster, A P; Royall, B; Bentham, C; Clarke, E; Skolnick, M S; Wilson, L R

2018-05-01

We demonstrate electro-mechanical control of an on-chip GaAs optical beam splitter containing a quantum dot single-photon source. The beam splitter consists of two nanobeam waveguides, which form a directional coupler (DC). The splitting ratio of the DC is controlled by varying the out-of-plane separation of the two waveguides using electromechanical actuation. We reversibly tune the beam splitter between an initial state, with emission into both output arms, and a final state with photons emitted into a single output arm. The device represents a compact and scalable tuning approach for use in III-V semiconductor integrated quantum optical circuits.

Electro-mechanical control of an on-chip optical beam splitter containing an embedded quantum emitter

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Z. K.; Foster, A. P.; Royall, B.; Bentham, C.; Clarke, E.; Skolnick, M. S.; Wilson, L. R.

2018-05-01

We demonstrate electro-mechanical control of an on-chip GaAs optical beam splitter containing a quantum dot single-photon source. The beam splitter consists of two nanobeam waveguides, which form a directional coupler (DC). The splitting ratio of the DC is controlled by varying the out-of-plane separation of the two waveguides using electro-mechanical actuation. We reversibly tune the beam splitter between an initial state, with emission into both output arms, and a final state with photons emitted into a single output arm. The device represents a compact and scalable tuning approach for use in III-V semiconductor integrated quantum optical circuits.

Radiobiological characterization of different energy-photon beams used in radiotherapy from linear accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elata, A.; Hassan, A. M. E.; Ali, E.; Calzolari, P.; Bettega, D.

2009-02-01

The main objective of this study was to perform a radiobiological characterization of different energy photon beams (6 MV and 15 MV) from linear accelerator used in radiotherapy, and comparison of different treatment modalities, with special regard to late effects of radiation. Using two end points, cell survival and micronucleus induction, in the biological system (Chines hamster V79 cell line). Chromosomes number was counted and found to be 22 chromosomes per cell. Cells were kept in confluent growth for two days and then exposed to two photon beams and immediately after irradiation were counted and re seeded in different numbered for each dose. For evaluation of surviving fraction samples were incubated at 37o C for 6 days, five samples were counted for each dose. At the same time three samples were seeded for the micronuclei frequency and incubated at 37o C after 24 hours cytochalasin-B was added to block cells in cytokinesis. The survival curve showed similar curves for the two beams and decreased with dose. The micronuclei frequency was positively correlated with dose and the energy of the photon. This indicates the presence of low dose of photoneutrons produced by using high energy photon beams. (Author)

Two-photon equivalent weighting of spatial excimer laser beam profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Eva, Eric; Bauer, Harry H.; Metzger, K.; Pfeiffer, A.

2001-04-01

Damage in optical materials for semiconductor lithography applications caused by exposure to 248 or 193 nm light is usually two-photon driven, hence it is a nonlinear function of incident intensity. Materials should be tested with flat- topped temporal and spatial laser beam profiles to facilitate interpretation of data, but in reality this is hard to achieve. Sandstrom provided a formula that approximates any given temporal pulse shape with a two- photon equivalent rectangular pulse (Second Symposium on 193 nm Lithography, Colorado Springs 1997). Known as the integral-square pulse duration, this definition has been embraced as an industry standard. Originally faced with the problem of comparing results obtained with pseudo-Gaussian spatial profiles to literature data, we found that a general solution for arbitrarily inhomogeneous spatial beam profiles exists which results in a definition much similar to Sandstrom's. In addition, we proved the validity of our approach in experiments with intentionally altered beam profiles.

Surface dose investigation of the flattening filter-free photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuenan; Khan, Mohammad K; Ting, Joseph Y; Easterling, Stephen B

2012-06-01

Flattening filter-free (FFF) x-rays can provide more efficient use of photons and a significant increase of dose rate compared with conventional flattened x-rays, features that are especially beneficial for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). The available data on the entrance doses of the FFF photon beams remain limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the entrance dose of FFF photons in the buildup region and to compare it with that of conventional flattened photons. A Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator has been in full clinical operation with 6-MV and 10-MV FFF and flattened x-ray photons. Entrance dose at the surface was measured using a parallel plate ionization chamber in a solid water phantom with buildup depth = 0~15 mm for 6X and 0~25 mm for 10X. Different field size (FS) patterns were created in the Eclipse Treatment Planning System by multileaf collimator (MLC) rather than jaws (FS = 2 × 2, 3 × 3, 4 × 4, 6 × 6, and 10 × 10 cm(2) by MLC and jaw size = 2.2 × 2.2, 3.2 × 3.2, 4.2 × 4.2, 6 × 6, and 10 × 10 cm(2)). The smallest FS was about four times larger than the ion chamber dimension. All buildup dose measurements were normalized to FS = 10 × 10 cm(2) at the depth of dose maximum (dmax). Good repeatability was demonstrated and surface dose increased linearly with FS for both flattened and FFF photons. The entrance dose of the FFF photons was modestly larger than that of the corresponding flattened photons for both 6X and 10X for different FS ranging from 2 × 2 cm(2) to 10 × 10 cm(2). The FFF photons have a higher entrance dose than that of the corresponding flattened photons for FS smaller than 10 × 10 cm(2). However, the difference is not substantial and may be clinically insignificant. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Summary test results of the particle-beam diagnostics for the Advanced Photon Source (APS) subsystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lumpkin, A.; Wang, X.; Sellyey, W.; Patterson, D.; Kahana, E.

1994-01-01

During the first half of 1994, a number of the diagnostic systems for measurement of the charged-particle beam parameters throughout the subsystems of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) have been installed and tested. The particle beams eventually will involve 450-MeV to 7-GeV positrons and with different pulse formats. The first test and commissionin results for beam profiles, beam position monitors, loss rate monitors, current monitors, and synchrotron radiation photon monitors hve been obtained using 200- to 350-MeV electron beams injected into the subsystems. Data presented are principally from the transport lines and the positron accumulator ring

Monte Carlo simulation of MOSFET detectors for high-energy photon beams using the PENELOPE code

Science.gov (United States)

Panettieri, Vanessa; Amor Duch, Maria; Jornet, Núria; Ginjaume, Mercè; Carrasco, Pablo; Badal, Andreu; Ortega, Xavier; Ribas, Montserrat

2007-01-01

The aim of this work was the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of the response of commercially available dosimeters based on metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) for radiotherapeutic photon beams using the PENELOPE code. The studied Thomson&Nielsen TN-502-RD MOSFETs have a very small sensitive area of 0.04 mm2 and a thickness of 0.5 µm which is placed on a flat kapton base and covered by a rounded layer of black epoxy resin. The influence of different metallic and Plastic water™ build-up caps, together with the orientation of the detector have been investigated for the specific application of MOSFET detectors for entrance in vivo dosimetry. Additionally, the energy dependence of MOSFET detectors for different high-energy photon beams (with energy >1.25 MeV) has been calculated. Calculations were carried out for simulated 6 MV and 18 MV x-ray beams generated by a Varian Clinac 1800 linear accelerator, a Co-60 photon beam from a Theratron 780 unit, and monoenergetic photon beams ranging from 2 MeV to 10 MeV. The results of the validation of the simulated photon beams show that the average difference between MC results and reference data is negligible, within 0.3%. MC simulated results of the effect of the build-up caps on the MOSFET response are in good agreement with experimental measurements, within the uncertainties. In particular, for the 18 MV photon beam the response of the detectors under a tungsten cap is 48% higher than for a 2 cm Plastic water™ cap and approximately 26% higher when a brass cap is used. This effect is demonstrated to be caused by positron production in the build-up caps of higher atomic number. This work also shows that the MOSFET detectors produce a higher signal when their rounded side is facing the beam (up to 6%) and that there is a significant variation (up to 50%) in the response of the MOSFET for photon energies in the studied energy range. All the results have shown that the PENELOPE code system can

Monte Carlo simulation of MOSFET detectors for high-energy photon beams using the PENELOPE code.

Science.gov (United States)

Panettieri, Vanessa; Duch, Maria Amor; Jornet, Núria; Ginjaume, Mercè; Carrasco, Pablo; Badal, Andreu; Ortega, Xavier; Ribas, Montserrat

2007-01-07

The aim of this work was the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation of the response of commercially available dosimeters based on metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) for radiotherapeutic photon beams using the PENELOPE code. The studied Thomson&Nielsen TN-502-RD MOSFETs have a very small sensitive area of 0.04 mm(2) and a thickness of 0.5 microm which is placed on a flat kapton base and covered by a rounded layer of black epoxy resin. The influence of different metallic and Plastic water build-up caps, together with the orientation of the detector have been investigated for the specific application of MOSFET detectors for entrance in vivo dosimetry. Additionally, the energy dependence of MOSFET detectors for different high-energy photon beams (with energy >1.25 MeV) has been calculated. Calculations were carried out for simulated 6 MV and 18 MV x-ray beams generated by a Varian Clinac 1800 linear accelerator, a Co-60 photon beam from a Theratron 780 unit, and monoenergetic photon beams ranging from 2 MeV to 10 MeV. The results of the validation of the simulated photon beams show that the average difference between MC results and reference data is negligible, within 0.3%. MC simulated results of the effect of the build-up caps on the MOSFET response are in good agreement with experimental measurements, within the uncertainties. In particular, for the 18 MV photon beam the response of the detectors under a tungsten cap is 48% higher than for a 2 cm Plastic water cap and approximately 26% higher when a brass cap is used. This effect is demonstrated to be caused by positron production in the build-up caps of higher atomic number. This work also shows that the MOSFET detectors produce a higher signal when their rounded side is facing the beam (up to 6%) and that there is a significant variation (up to 50%) in the response of the MOSFET for photon energies in the studied energy range. All the results have shown that the PENELOPE code system can successfully

Derivation of electron and photon energy spectra from electron beam central axis depth dose curves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deng Jun [Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)]. E-mail: jun@reyes.stanford.edu; Jiang, Steve B.; Pawlicki, Todd; Li Jinsheng; Ma, C.M. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

2001-05-01

A method for deriving the electron and photon energy spectra from electron beam central axis percentage depth dose (PDD) curves has been investigated. The PDD curves of 6, 12 and 20 MeV electron beams obtained from the Monte Carlo full phase space simulations of the Varian linear accelerator treatment head have been used to test the method. We have employed a 'random creep' algorithm to determine the energy spectra of electrons and photons in a clinical electron beam. The fitted electron and photon energy spectra have been compared with the corresponding spectra obtained from the Monte Carlo full phase space simulations. Our fitted energy spectra are in good agreement with the Monte Carlo simulated spectra in terms of peak location, peak width, amplitude and smoothness of the spectrum. In addition, the derived depth dose curves of head-generated photons agree well in both shape and amplitude with those calculated using the full phase space data. The central axis depth dose curves and dose profiles at various depths have been compared using an automated electron beam commissioning procedure. The comparison has demonstrated that our method is capable of deriving the energy spectra for the Varian accelerator electron beams investigated. We have implemented this method in the electron beam commissioning procedure for Monte Carlo electron beam dose calculations. (author)

Entanglement of two-qubit photon beam by magnetic field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levin, A.D.; Castro, R.A. [University of Sao Paulo, Institute of Physics, CP 66318, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Gitman, D.M. [University of Sao Paulo, Institute of Physics, CP 66318, Sao Paulo (Brazil); P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation); Tomsk State University, Tomsk (Russian Federation)

2014-09-15

We study the possibility of affecting the entanglement in a two-qubit system consisting of two photons with different fixed frequencies but with two arbitrary linear polarizations, moving in the same direction, with the help of an applied external magnetic field. The interaction between the magnetic field and the photons in our model is achieved through intermediate electrons that interact both with the photons and the magnetic field. The possibility of an exact theoretical analysis of this scheme is based on well-known exact solutions that describe the interaction of an electron subjected to an external magnetic field (or a medium of electrons not interacting with each other) with a quantized field of two photons. We adapt these exact solutions to the case under consideration. Using explicit wave functions for the resulting electromagnetic field, we calculate the entanglement measures (the information and the Schmidt ones) of the photon beam as functions of the applied magnetic field and the parameters of the electron medium. (orig.)

Microcomb-Based True-Time-Delay Network for Microwave Beamforming With Arbitrary Beam Pattern Control

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Xiaoxiao; Xuan, Yi; Bao, Chengying; Li, Shangyuan; Zheng, Xiaoping; Zhou, Bingkun; Qi, Minghao; Weiner, Andrew M.

2018-06-01

Microwave phased array antennas (PAAs) are very attractive to defense applications and high-speed wireless communications for their abilities of fast beam scanning and complex beam pattern control. However, traditional PAAs based on phase shifters suffer from the beam-squint problem and have limited bandwidths. True-time-delay (TTD) beamforming based on low-loss photonic delay lines can solve this problem. But it is still quite challenging to build large-scale photonic TTD beamformers due to their high hardware complexity. In this paper, we demonstrate a photonic TTD beamforming network based on a miniature microresonator frequency comb (microcomb) source and dispersive time delay. A method incorporating optical phase modulation and programmable spectral shaping is proposed for positive and negative apodization weighting to achieve arbitrary microwave beam pattern control. The experimentally demonstrated TTD beamforming network can support a PAA with 21 elements. The microwave frequency range is $\\mathbf{8\\sim20\\ {GHz}}$, and the beam scanning range is $\\mathbf{\\pm 60.2^\\circ}$. Detailed measurements of the microwave amplitudes and phases are performed. The beamforming performances of Gaussian, rectangular beams and beam notch steering are evaluated through simulations by assuming a uniform radiating antenna array. The scheme can potentially support larger PAAs with hundreds of elements by increasing the number of comb lines with broadband microcomb generation.

A feasibility study of Dynamic Phantom scanner for quality assurance of photon beam profiles at various gantry angles.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yunkai; Hsi, Wen C; Chu, James C H; Bernard, Damian B; Abrams, Ross A

2005-01-01

The effect of gantry rotation on beam profiles of photon and electron beams is an important issue in quality assurance for radiotherapy. To address variations in the profiles of photon and electron beams at different gantry angles, a Dynamic Phantom scanner composed of a 20 x 12 x 6 cm3 scanning Lucite block was designed as a cross-beam-profile scanner. To our knowledge, differences between scanned profiles acquired at different gantry angles with a small size Lucite block and those acquired a full-size (60 x 60 x 50 cm3) water phantom have not been previously investigated. We therefore performed a feasibility study for a first prototype Dynamic Phantom scanner without a gantry attachment mount. Radiation beams from a Varian LINAC 21EX and 2100C were used. Photon beams (6 MV and 18 MV) were shaped by either collimator jaws or a Varian 120 Multileaf (MLC) collimator, and electron beams (6 MeV, 12 MeV, and 20 MeV) were shaped by a treatment cone. To investigate the effect on profiles by using a Lucite block, a quantitative comparison of scanned profiles with the Dynamic Phantom and a full-size water phantom was first performed at a 0 degrees gantry angle for both photon and electron beams. For photon beam profiles defined by jaws at 1.0 cm and 5.0 cm depths of Lucite (i.e., at 1.1 cm and 5.7 cm depth of water), a good agreement (less than 1% variation) inside the field edge was observed between profiles scanned with the Dynamic Phantom and with a water phantom. The use of Lucite in the Dynamic Phantom resulted in reduced penumbra width (about 0.5 mm out of 5 mm to 8mm) and reduced (1% to 2%) scatter dose beyond the field edges for both 6 MV and 18 MV beams, compared with the water phantom scanner. For profiles of the MLC-shaped 6 MV photon beam, a similar agreement was observed. For profiles of electron beams scanned at 2.9 cm depth of Lucite (i.e., at 3.3 cm depth of water), larger disagreements in profiles (3% to 4%) and penumbra width (3 mm to 4 mm out of 12 mm

Prototype photon position monitors for undulator beams at the advanced light source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warwick, T.; Shu, D.; Rodricks, B.; Johnson, E.D.

1992-01-01

Design criteria are described, and test results are presented, for prototype ALS undulator beam position monitors. The design is based on monitors presently in use at NSLS, with modifications to account for the widely varying and large K values of the undulators to be installed at the ALS. In particular, we have modified the design to simplify the thermal engineering and we have explored techniques to suppress the response of the monitors to soft photons, so that the beam position can be determined by measuring the higher energy photons which are better collimated

The ESTRO-EQUAL quality assurance network for photon and electron radiotherapy beams in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, I.H.; Dutreix, A.; Richter, J.; Bridier, A.; Chavaudra, J.; Svensson, H.

2001-01-01

Background: In 1998 an ESTRO Quality Assurance Network for radiotherapy (EQUAL) has been set up for 25 European countries for photon and electron beams in reference and non-reference conditions. Material and Methods: Measurements are done using LiF powder (DTL937-Philitech, France) that is processed with the PCL3 automatic reader (Fimel-PTW). The participating centers irradiate the TLDs with an absorbed dose of 2 Gy according to the clinical routine. Results: Until September 2000 EQUAL has checked 135 photon beams (including the beams rechecked) from 51 radiotherapy centers in Germany out of 86 accepted centers. The results show that 2% of the beam outputs in reference conditions and 3% of the percentage depth doses are outside the tolerance level (deviation > ± 5%). 6% of the beam output variations and of the wedge transmission factors show deviations > ± 5%. The global analysis of results shows deviations > ± 5% in at least one parameter for 18 beams out of the 135 beams checked. Five rechecked beams present one ''real dosimetric'' problem in one or more parameters, corresponding to 4% of the 114 beams for which the deviations cannot be attributed to set-up errors. - The EQUAL network has checked 89 electron beams in Germany. The results show that all beam outputs checked are within the tolerance level. The standard deviation for the beam output in reference conditions is 2.0% and 2.2% for the beam output for the others field sizes. The percentage of deviations > 3% and ≤ 5% for the reference beam output is higher for electron beams than for photon beam checks. Therefore the electron beam calibration and the TPS algorithms should be improved to increase the accuracy of the patient dosimetry for radiotherapy. (orig.) [de

Dosimetric properties characterization of silicon diodes used in photon beam radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bizetto, Cesar Augusto

2013-01-01

In the current work it was studied the performance of epitaxial (EPI) and float zone (FZ) silicon diodes as on-line dosimeters for megavoltage (EPI diode) and orthovoltage (EPI and FZ diode) photon beam radiotherapy. In order to be used as dosimeters the diodes were enclosed in black polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) probes. The devices were then connected, on photovoltaic mode, to an electrometer Keithley® 6517B to allow measurements of the photocurrent. The irradiations were performed with 6 and 18 MV photon beams (Siemens Primus® linear accelerator), 6 and 15 MV (Novalis TX®) and 10, 25, 30 and 50 kV of a Pantak / Seifert X ray radiation device. During the measurements with the Siemens Primus the diodes were held between PMMA plates placed at 10.0 cm depth. When using Novalis TX® the devices were held between solid water plates placed at 50 cm depth. In both cases the diodes were centered in a radiation field of 10 x 10 cm 2 , with the source-to-surface distance (SSD) kept at 100 cm. In measurements with orthovoltage photon beams the diodes were placed 50.0 cm from the tube in a radiation field of 8 cm diameter. The dose-rate dependency was studied for 6 and 15 MV (varying the dose-rate from 100 to 600 monitor units per minute) and for the 50 kV beam by varying the current tube from 2 to 20 mA. All devices showed linear response with dose rate and, within uncertainties the charge collected is independent of dose rate. The current signals induced showed good instantaneous repeatability of the diodes, characterized by coefficients of variation of current (CV) smaller than 1.14% (megavoltage beams) and 0.15% for orthovoltage beams and coefficients of variation of charge (CV) smaller than 1.84% (megavoltage beams) and 1.67% (orthovoltage beams). The dose response curves were quite linear with linear correlation coefficients better than 0.9999 for all diodes. (author)

Feasibility of using a dose-area product ratio as beam quality specifier for photon beams with small field sizes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pimpinella, Maria; Caporali, Claudio; Guerra, Antonio Stefano; Silvi, Luca; De Coste, Vanessa; Petrucci, Assunta; Delaunay, Frank; Dufreneix, Stéphane; Gouriou, Jean; Ostrowsky, Aimé; Rapp, Benjamin; Bordy, Jean-Marc; Daures, Josiane; Le Roy, Maïwenn; Sommier, Line; Vermesse, Didier

2018-01-01

To investigate the feasibility of using the ratio of dose-area product at 20 cm and 10 cm water depths (DAPR 20,10 ) as a beam quality specifier for radiotherapy photon beams with field diameter below 2 cm. Dose-area product was determined as the integral of absorbed dose to water (D w ) over a surface larger than the beam size. 6 MV and 10 MV photon beams with field diameters from 0.75 cm to 2 cm were considered. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed to calculate energy-dependent dosimetric parameters and to study the DAPR 20,10 properties. Aspects relevant to DAPR 20,10 measurement were explored using large-area plane-parallel ionization chambers with different diameters. DAPR 20,10 was nearly independent of field size in line with the small differences among the corresponding mean beam energies. Both MC and experimental results showed a dependence of DAPR 20,10 on the measurement setup and the surface over which D w is integrated. For a given setup, DAPR 20,10 values obtained using ionization chambers with different air-cavity diameters agreed with one another within 0.4%, after the application of MC correction factors accounting for effects due to the chamber size. DAPR 20,10 differences among the small field sizes were within 1% and sensitivity to the beam energy resulted similar to that of established beam quality specifiers based on the point measurement of D w . For a specific measurement setup and integration area, DAPR 20,10 proved suitable to specify the beam quality of small photon beams for the selection of energy-dependent dosimetric parameters. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Theory of the effect of third-harmonic generation on three-photon resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization in focused beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Payne, M.G.; Garrett, W.R.

1983-01-01

Multiphoton ionization in the region near a three-photon resonance is treated for focused, plane-polarized Gaussian beams with diffraction-limited beam divergence. In this situation, a third-harmonic field is generated within the laser beam. At, and very near, three-photon resonance the driving rate for the upper-state probability amplitude due to one-photon absorption of third-harmonic light becomes nearly equal to the corresponding three-photon rate due to the laser field, but these effects are 180 0 out of phase. As a consequence of this cancellation between two pumping terms, the three-photon resonance line essentially disappears at moderate concentrations and the observed ionization has a line shape that is close to the phase-matching curve for third-harmonic generation. The ionization signal, near but not on the resonance, is due almost entirely to absorption of third-harmonic photons plus other laser photons; three-photon resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization by the laser is much weaker. This is particularly true on the blue side of the three-photon resonance at detunings where phase matching occurs. The problem is treated quite generally with predictions of the full line shape for n-photon ionization and third-harmonic light generation near three-photon resonance, including the rather strong influences of positively dispersive buffer gases. We also show that the cancellation between the one-photon and the three-photon process is partially spoiled in the presence of a counterpropagating beam at the same frequency

Simultaneous optimization of photons and electrons for mixed beam radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, S; Fix, M K; Joosten, A; Henzen, D; Frei, D; Volken, W; Kueng, R; Aebersold, D M; Stampanoni, M F M; Manser, P

2017-06-26

The aim of this work is to develop and investigate an inverse treatment planning process (TPP) for mixed beam radiotherapy (MBRT) capable of performing simultaneous optimization of photon and electron apertures. A simulated annealing based direct aperture optimization (DAO) is implemented to perform simultaneous optimization of photon and electron apertures, both shaped with the photon multileaf collimator (pMLC). Validated beam models are used as input for Monte Carlo dose calculations. Consideration of photon pMLC transmission during DAO and a weight re-optimization of the apertures after deliverable dose calculation are utilized to efficiently reduce the differences between optimized and deliverable dose distributions. The TPP for MBRT is evaluated for an academic situation with a superficial and an enlarged PTV in the depth, a left chest wall case including the internal mammary chain and a squamous cell carcinoma case. Deliverable dose distributions of MBRT plans are compared to those of modulated electron radiotherapy (MERT), photon IMRT and if available to those of clinical VMAT plans. The generated MBRT plans dosimetrically outperform the MERT, photon IMRT and VMAT plans for all investigated situations. For the clinical cases of the left chest wall and the squamous cell carcinoma, the MBRT plans cover the PTV similarly or more homogeneously than the VMAT plans, while OARs are spared considerably better with average reductions of the mean dose to parallel OARs and D 2% to serial OARs by 54% and 26%, respectively. Moreover, the low dose bath expressed as V 10% to normal tissue is substantially reduced by up to 45% compared to the VMAT plans. A TPP for MBRT including simultaneous optimization is successfully implemented and the dosimetric superiority of MBRT plans over MERT, photon IMRT and VMAT plans is demonstrated for academic and clinical situations including superficial targets with and without deep-seated part.

On-chip steering of entangled photons in nonlinear photonic crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Leng, H Y; Yu, X Q; Gong, Y X; Xu, P; Xie, Z D; Jin, H; Zhang, C; Zhu, S N

2011-08-16

One promising technique for working toward practical photonic quantum technologies is to implement multiple operations on a monolithic chip, thereby improving stability, scalability and miniaturization. The on-chip spatial control of entangled photons will certainly benefit numerous applications, including quantum imaging, quantum lithography, quantum metrology and quantum computation. However, external optical elements are usually required to spatially control the entangled photons. Here we present the first experimental demonstration of on-chip spatial control of entangled photons, based on a domain-engineered nonlinear photonic crystal. We manipulate the entangled photons using the inherent properties of the crystal during the parametric downconversion, demonstrating two-photon focusing and beam-splitting from a periodically poled lithium tantalate crystal with a parabolic phase profile. These experimental results indicate that versatile and precise spatial control of entangled photons is achievable. Because they may be operated independent of any bulk optical elements, domain-engineered nonlinear photonic crystals may prove to be a valuable ingredient in on-chip integrated quantum optics.

Small-Field Dosimetry in A 6 MV Photon Beam Using Alanine and Liquid Ionisation Chamber

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zimmermann, S.; Riis, H. L.; Hjelm-Hansen, M.

2012-01-01

Purpose/Objective: Dosimetry of small field sizes in MV photon beams is an increasingly important subject, and a generally accepted guideline for clinical measurements is still lacking. The present comparative study was carried out to further investigate the use of alanine and the PTW microLion...... of each field and depth. This dose maximum was measured for each field using a Scanditronix Wellhöfer photon field diode. The same measurements were carried out using a liquid ionchamber, PTW microLion, irradiated by 500 MU. The output of the accelerator was controlled by a PTW semiflex ion chamber...

To test photon statistics by atomic beam deflection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yuzhu; Chen Yudan; Huang Weigang; Liu Liang

1985-02-01

There exists a simple relation between the photon statistics in resonance fluorescence and the statistics of the momentum transferred to an atom by a plane travelling wave [Cook, R.J., Opt. Commun., 35, 347(1980)]. Using an atomic beam deflection by light pressure, we have observed sub-Poissonian statistics in resonance fluorescence of two-level atoms. (author)

Evaluation of two water-equivalent phantom materials for output calibration of photon and electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Lizhong; Prasad, Satish C.; Bassano, Daniel A.

2003-01-01

Two commercially available water-equivalent solid phantom materials were evaluated for output calibration in both photon (6-15 MV) and electron (6-20 MeV) beams. The solid water 457 and virtual water materials have the same chemical composition but differ in manufacturing process and density. A Farmer-type ionization chamber was used for measuring the output of the photon beams at 5- and 10-cm depth and electron beams at maximum buildup depth in the solid phantoms and in natural water. The water-equivalency correction factor for the solid materials is defined as the ratio of the chamber reading in natural water to that in the solid at the same linear depth. For photon beams, the correction factor was found to be independent of depth and was 0.987 and 0.993 for 6- and 15-MV beams, respectively, for solid water. For virtual water, the corresponding correction factors were 0.993 and 0.998 for 6- and 15-MV beams, respectively. For electron beams, the correction factors ranged from 1.013 to 1.007 for energies of 6 to 20 MeV for both solid materials. This indicated that the water-equivalency of these materials is within ± 1.3%, making them suitable substitutes for natural water in both photon and electron beam output measurements over a wide energy range. These correction factors are slightly larger than the manufacturers' advertised values (± 1.0% for solid water and ± 0.5% for virtual water). We suggest that these corrections are large enough in most cases and should be applied in the calculation of beam outputs

Beam position feedback system for the advanced photon source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.

1994-01-01

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) will implement both global and local beam position feedback systems to stabilize the particle and x-ray beams for the storage ring. The systems consist of 20 VME crates distributed around the ring, each running multiple digital signal processors (DSP) running at 4 kHz sampling rate with a proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control algorithm. The particle and x-ray beam position data is shared by the distributed processors through networked reflective memory. A theory of closed orbit correction using the technique of singular value decomposition (SVD) of the response matrix and simulation of its application to the APS storage ring will be discussed. This technique combines the global and local feedback systems and resolves the conflict among multiple local feedback systems due to local bump closure error. Maximum correction efficiency is achieved by feeding back to the global orbit data to the local feedback systems. The effect of the eddy current induced in the relatively thick (1/2 in.) vacuum chamber by the ac corrector magnet field for local feedback systems is compensated by digital filters. Results of experiments conducted on the x-ray ring of the National Synchrotron Light Source and the SPEAR at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory will also be presented

Beam position feedback system for the advanced photon source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.

1994-01-01

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) will implement both global and local beam position feedback systems to stabilize the particle and X-ray beams for the storage ring. The systems consist of 20 VME crates distributed around the ring, each running multiple digital signal processors (DSP) running at 4 kHz sampling rate with a proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control algorithm. The particle and X-ray beam position data is shared by the distributed processors through networked reflective memory. A theory of closed orbit correction using the technique of singular value decomposition (SVD) of the response matrix and simulation of its application to the APS storage ring will be discussed. This technique combines the global and local feedback systems and resolves the conflict among multiple local feedback systems due to local bump closure error. Maximum correction efficiency is achieved by feeding back the global orbit data to the local feedback systems. The effect of the vacuum chamber eddy current induced by the AC corrector magnet field for local feedback systems is compensated by digital filters. Results of experiments conducted on the X-ray ring of the National Synchrotron Light Source and the SPEAR at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory will be presented. copyright 1994 American Institute of Physics

Beam position feedback system for the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.

1993-01-01

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) will implement both global and local beam position feedback systems to stabilize the particle and X-ray beams for the storage ring. The systems consist of 20 VME crates distributed around the ring, each running multiple digital signal processors (DSP) running at 4kHz sampling rate with a proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control algorithm. The particle and X-ray beam position data is shared by the distributed processors through networked reflective memory. A theory of closed orbit correction using the technique of singular value decomposition (SVD) of the response matrix and simulation of its application to the APS storage ring will be discussed. This technique combines the global and local feedback systems and resolves the conflict among multiple local feedback systems due to local bump closure error. Maximum correction efficiency is achieved by feeding back the global orbit data to the local feedback systems. The effect of the vacuum chamber eddy current induced by the AC corrector magnet field for local feedback systems is compensated by digital filters. Results of experiments conducted on the X-ray ring of the National Synchrotron Light Source and the SPEAR at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory will be presented

Beam position feedback system for the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.

1993-01-01

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) will implement both global and local beam position feedback systems to stabilize the particle and X-ray beams for the storage ring. The systems consist of 20 VME crates distributed around the ring, each running multiple digital signal processors (DSP) running at 4kHz sampling rate with a proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control algorithm. The particle and X-ray beam position data is shared by the distributed processors through networked reflective memory. A theory of closed orbit correction using the technique of singular value decomposition (SVD) of the response matrix and simulation of its application to the APS storage ring will be discussed. This technique combines the global and local feedback systems and resolves the conflict among multiple local feedback systems due to local bump closure error. Maximum correction efficiency is achieved by feeding back the global orbit data to the local feedback systems. The effect of the eddy current induced in the relatively thick (1/2 inch) vacuum chamber by the AC corrector magnet field for local feedback systems is compensated by digital filters. Results of experiments conducted on the X-ray ring of the National Synchrotron Light Source and the SPEAR at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory will also be presented

Experiences of calibration in photon beams for the personal dose equivalent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindborg, L.; Gullberg, O.

1994-01-01

The calibration quantity shall, according to ICRU, be the personal dose equivalent, H p (d), in a phantom having the composition of the ICRU tissue and the same shape and size as the recommended PMMA calibration phantom, 30 x 30 x 15 cm 3 . There exist differences in backscattering between PMMA and tissue that for certain photon energies could be of importance. This could either be treated as a systematic uncertainty or be incorporated in the definition. However, monoenergetic beams seldom appear in reality and the difference in backscatter is not thought to be important. The calibration quantity for photons was chosen as the absorbed dose to ICRU tissue (times a quality factor 1) at 10 mm depth in a tissue-equivalent slab phantom. In Sweden 13 different services run personal dosimetry. Their initial hesitation about the change of quantity disappeared after testing their photon energy responses. It was found that most TLD systems were measuring the new quantity better than the old one and that the film systems needed only minor corrections. Most TLD systems now report 5% larger dose equivalents for the same irradiation in a photon beam from a 137 Cs source. (author)

Design of a novel multi channel photonic crystal fiber polarization beam splitter

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yunyan; Li, Shuguang; Wang, Xinyu; Wang, Guangyao; Shi, Min; Wu, Junjun

2017-10-01

A kind of multi channel dual-core photonic crystal fiber polarization beam splitter is designed. We analyze the effects of the lattice parameters and the thickness of gold layer on the beam splitting by the finite element method. Numerical results show that the thickness of metal layer and the size of the air holes near the fiber cores are closely linked with the nature of the polarization beam splitter. We also obtain that extinction ratio can reach -73.87 dB at 1 . 55 μm wavelength and at 1 . 41 μm, 1 . 65 μm extinction ratio can reach 30.8978 dB and 31.1741 dB, respectively. The comparison of the effect on the characteristic of the photonic crystal fiber with coating no gold is also taken into account.

Dosimetric aspects of the therapeutic photon beams from a dual-energy linear accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Ghazi, M.S.A.L.; Arjune, B.; Fiedler, J.A.; Sharma, P.D.

1988-01-01

Parameters of the photon beams (6 and 20 MV) from a dual-energy linear accelerator (Mevatron-KD, Siemens Medical Laboratories, CA) are presented. The depth dose characteristics of the photon beams are d/sub max/ of 1.8 and 3.8 cm and percentage depth dose of 68% and 80% at 10-cm depth and 100-cm source--surface distance for a field size of 10 x 10 cm 2 for 6 and 20 MV, respectively. The 6 and 20 MV beams were found to correspond to nominal accelerating potentials of 4.7 and 17 MV, respectively. The stability of output is within +- 1% and flatness and symmetry are within +- 3%. These figures compare favorably with the manufacturer's specifications

Beam Characterization of 10-MV Photon Beam from Medical Linear Accelerator without Flattening Filter.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimozato, Tomohiro; Aoyama, Yuichi; Matsunaga, Takuma; Tabushi, Katsuyoshi

2017-01-01

This work investigated the dosimetric properties of a 10-MV photon beam emitted from a medical linear accelerator (linac) with no flattening filter (FF). The aim of this study is to analyze the radiation fluence and energy emitted from the flattening filter free (FFF) linac using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. The FFF linac was created by removing the FF from a linac in clinical use. Measurements of the depth dose (DD) and the off-axis profile were performed using a three-dimensional water phantom with an ionization chamber. A MC simulation for a 10-MV photon beam from this FFF linac was performed using the BEAMnrc code. The off-axis profiles for the FFF linac exhibited a chevron-like distribution, and the dose outside the irradiation field was found to be lower for the FFF linac than for a linac with an FF (FF linac). The DD curves for the FFF linac included many contaminant electrons in the build-up region. Therefore, for clinical use, a metal filter is additionally required to reduce the effects of the electron contamination. The mean energy of the FFF linac was found to be lower than that of the FF linac owing to the absence of beam hardening caused by the FF.

SU-E-T-781: Using An Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID) for Correlating Linac Photon Beam Energies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yaddanapudi, S; Cai, B; Sun, B; Noel, C; Goddu, S; Mutic, S [Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: Electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) have proven to be useful for measuring several parameters of interest in linear accelerator (linac) quality assurance (QA). The purpose of this project was to evaluate the feasibility of using EPIDs for determining linac photon beam energies. Methods: Two non-clinical Varian TrueBeam linacs (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) with 6MV and 10MV photon beams were used to perform the measurements. The linacs were equipped with an amorphous silicon based EPIDs (aSi1000) that were used for the measurements. We compared the use of flatness versus percent depth dose (PDD) for predicting changes in linac photon beam energy. PDD was measured in 1D water tank (Sun Nuclear Corporation, Melbourne FL) and the profiles were measured using 2D ion-chamber array (IC-Profiler, Sun Nuclear) and the EPID. Energy changes were accomplished by varying the bending magnet current (BMC). The evaluated energies conformed with the AAPM TG142 tolerance of ±1% change in PDD. Results: BMC changes correlating with a ±1% change in PDD corresponded with a change in flatness of ∼1% to 2% from baseline values on the EPID. IC Profiler flatness values had the same correlation. We observed a similar trend for the 10MV beam energy changes. Our measurements indicated a strong correlation between changes in linac photon beam energy and changes in flatness. For all machines and energies, beam energy changes produced change in the uniformity (AAPM TG-142), varying from ∼1% to 2.5%. Conclusions: EPID image analysis of beam profiles can be used to determine linac photon beam energy changes. Flatness-based metrics or uniformity as defined by AAPM TG-142 were found to be more sensitive to linac photon beam energy changes than PDD. Research funding provided by Varian Medical Systems. Dr. Sasa Mutic receives compensation for providing patient safety training services from Varian Medical Systems, the sponsor of this study.

Consistency check of photon beam physical data after recommissioning process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadman, B; Chawapun, N; Ua-apisitwong, S; Asakit, T; Chumpu, N; Rueansri, J

2016-01-01

In radiotherapy, medical linear accelerator (Linac) is the key system used for radiation treatments delivery. Although, recommissioning was recommended after major modification of the machine by AAPM TG53, but it might not be practical in radiotherapy center with heavy workloads. The main purpose of this study was to compare photon beam physical data between initial commissioning and recommissioning of 6 MV Elekta Precise linac. The parameters for comparing were the percentage depth dose (PDD) and beam profiles. The clinical commissioning test cases followed IAEA-TECDOC-1583 were planned on REF 91230 IMRT Dose Verification Phantom by Philips’ Pinnacle treatment planning system. The Delta 4PT was used for dose distribution verification with 90% passing criteria of the gamma index (3%/3mm). Our results revealed that the PDDs and beam profiles agreed within a tolerance limit recommended by TRS430. Most of the point doses and dose distribution verification passed the acceptance criteria. This study showed the consistency of photon beam physical data after recommissioning process. There was a good agreement between initial commissioning and recommissioning within a tolerance limit, demonstrated that the full recommissioning process might not be required. However, in the complex treatment planning geometry, the initial data should be applied with great caution. (paper)

B-factory via conversion of 1-TeV electron beams into 1-TeV photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mtingwa, S.K.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on the study of CP violation and rare decays of beauty particles which are pressing problems in high-energy physics. It is known that one should analyze beauty decays of at least the order of 10 8 or 19 9 . Thus, numerous proposals for beauty factories are being discussed now, although some of these projects are likely to supply much smaller numbers of beauty events. At the same time, at present several projects, such as CLIC (Cern Linear Collider), expect to build linear e + e - colliders with beam energies up to 1 TeV. The aim of this work is to show that the possibility exists of using the unique features of the discussed teraelectron volt electron linacs to obtain a facility for the production of beauty via photoproduction of nuclei. Unique features of high-energy photoproduction are as follows. The rather large fraction (∼2 x 10 -4 ) of events with beauty at E γ ∼ 1 TeV. Beauty particles are produced with about equally large momenta ∼0.05 E γ and at rather large transverse momenta p t ∼ m b . The following scheme can be envisioned. The 1-TeV electron beam is Compton scattered off a low-energy (∼ 1-eV) laser pulse. The laser photons are thus converted into a highly collimated beam of energy E γ ∼ E e , directed along the electron's original line of motion. Such schemes to produce high-energy photon beams have been discussed. These 1-TeV photons are subsequently scattered onto a nuclear target to produce b bar b pairs

Measurement of electron beam polarization from unstrained GaAs via two-photon photoemission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCarter, J.L., E-mail: jlm2ar@virginia.edu [Department of Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22901 (United States); Afanasev, A. [Department of Physics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 (United States); Gay, T.J. [Jorgensen Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 (United States); Hansknecht, J. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, 12050 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 500, Newport News, VA 23606 (United States); Kechiantz, A. [Department of Physics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 (United States); Poelker, M. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, 12050 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 500, Newport News, VA 23606 (United States)

2014-02-21

Two-photon absorption of 1560 nm light was used to generate polarized electron beams from unstrained GaAs photocathodes of varying thickness: 625 μm, 0.32 μm, and 0.18 μm. For each photocathode, the degree of spin polarization of the photoemitted beam was less than 50%, contradicting earlier predictions based on simple quantum mechanical selection rules for spherically-symmetric systems but consistent with the more sophisticated model of Bhat et al. (Phys. Rev. B 71 (2005) 035209). Polarization via two-photon absorption was the highest from the thinnest photocathode sample and comparable to that obtained via one-photon absorption (using 778 nm light), with values 40.3±1.0% and 42.6±1.0%, respectively.

Probing WWγ and WWγγ couplings with high energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, S.Y.; Schrempp, F.

1991-12-01

We examine the potential of a future 500 GeV linear e + e - collider for probing anomalous WW γ and WW γγ couplings in the so-called γ(γ)model, corresponding to colliding γe and γγ beams from Compton backscattering of laser light. We consider in detail the 'minimal' set (k γ , λ γ ) of CP conserving anomalous couplings and present first results for the CP violating 'partner' couplings (anti K γ , anti l γ ) as well. The reactions under consideration are γe → Wν, γγ → W + W - and, as a reference, also e + e - → W + W - . We discuss the impact of both circular polarization of laser photons and polarized e(anti e) beams. Photon 'beams' due to classical Bremsstrahlung are also studied for comparison. We analyze in detail, how changes of the assumed machine parameters, cuts and systematic errors affect the sensitivity to the anomalous couplings. (orig.)

Enhancing the photon-extraction efficiency of site-controlled quantum dots by deterministically fabricated microlenses

Science.gov (United States)

Kaganskiy, Arsenty; Fischbach, Sarah; Strittmatter, André; Rodt, Sven; Heindel, Tobias; Reitzenstein, Stephan

2018-04-01

We report on the realization of scalable single-photon sources (SPSs) based on single site-controlled quantum dots (SCQDs) and deterministically fabricated microlenses. The fabrication process comprises the buried-stressor growth technique complemented with low-temperature in-situ electron-beam lithography for the integration of SCQDs into microlens structures with high yield and high alignment accuracy. The microlens-approach leads to a broadband enhancement of the photon-extraction efficiency of up to (21 ± 2)% and a high suppression of multi-photon events with g (2)(τ = 0) SPSs which, can be applied in photonic quantum circuits and advanced quantum computation schemes.

Validating dose rate calibration of radiotherapy photon beams through IAEA/WHO postal audit dosimetry service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jangda, A.Q.; Hussein, S.

2012-01-01

In external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), the quality assurance (QA) of the radiation beam is crucial to the accurate delivery of the prescribed dose to the patient. One of the dosimetric parameters that require monitoring is the beam output, specified as the dose rate on the central axis under reference conditions. The aim of this project was to validate dose rate calibration of megavoltage photon beams using the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)/World Health Organisation (WHO) postal audit dosimetry service. Three photon beams were audited: a 6 MV beam from the low-energy linac and 6 and 18 MV beams from a dual high-energy linac. The agreement between our stated doses and the IAEA results was within 1% for the two 6 MV beams and within 2% for the 18 MV beam. The IAEA/WHO postal audit dosimetry service provides an independent verification of dose rate calibration protocol by an international facility. (author)

Validating dose rate calibration of radiotherapy photon beams through IAEA/WHO postal audit dosimetry service.

Science.gov (United States)

Jangda, Abdul Qadir; Hussein, Sherali

2012-05-01

In external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), the quality assurance (QA) of the radiation beam is crucial to the accurate delivery of the prescribed dose to the patient. One of the dosimetric parameters that require monitoring is the beam output, specified as the dose rate on the central axis under reference conditions. The aim of this project was to validate dose rate calibration of megavoltage photon beams using the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)/World Health Organisation (WHO) postal audit dosimetry service. Three photon beams were audited: a 6 MV beam from the low-energy linac and 6 and 18 MV beams from a dual high-energy linac. The agreement between our stated doses and the IAEA results was within 1% for the two 6 MV beams and within 2% for the 18 MV beam. The IAEA/WHO postal audit dosimetry service provides an independent verification of dose rate calibration protocol by an international facility.

Commissioning of a medical accelerator photon beam Monte Carlo simulation using wide-field profiles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pena, J; Franco, L; Gomez, F; Iglesias, A; Lobato, R; Mosquera, J; Pazos, A; Pardo, J; Pombar, M; RodrIguez, A; Sendon, J

2004-01-01

A method for commissioning an EGSnrc Monte Carlo simulation of medical linac photon beams through wide-field lateral profiles at moderate depth in a water phantom is presented. Although depth-dose profiles are commonly used for nominal energy determination, our study shows that they are quite insensitive to energy changes below 0.3 MeV (0.6 MeV) for a 6 MV (15 MV) photon beam. Also, the depth-dose profile dependence on beam radius adds an additional uncertainty in their use for tuning nominal energy. Simulated 40 cm x 40 cm lateral profiles at 5 cm depth in a water phantom show greater sensitivity to both nominal energy and radius. Beam parameters could be determined by comparing only these curves with measured data

Commissioning of a medical accelerator photon beam Monte Carlo simulation using wide-field profiles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pena, J [Departamento de Fisica de PartIculas, Facultade de Fisica, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Franco, L [Departamento de Fisica de PartIculas, Facultade de Fisica, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Gomez, F [Departamento de Fisica de PartIculas, Facultade de Fisica, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Iglesias, A [Departamento de Fisica de PartIculas, Facultade de Fisica, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Lobato, R [Hospital ClInico Universitario de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Mosquera, J [Hospital ClInico Universitario de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Pazos, A [Departamento de Fisica de PartIculas, Facultade de Fisica, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Pardo, J [Departamento de Fisica de PartIculas, Facultade de Fisica, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Pombar, M [Hospital ClInico Universitario de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela (Spain); RodrIguez, A [Departamento de Fisica de PartIculas, Facultade de Fisica, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Sendon, J [Hospital ClInico Universitario de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

2004-11-07

A method for commissioning an EGSnrc Monte Carlo simulation of medical linac photon beams through wide-field lateral profiles at moderate depth in a water phantom is presented. Although depth-dose profiles are commonly used for nominal energy determination, our study shows that they are quite insensitive to energy changes below 0.3 MeV (0.6 MeV) for a 6 MV (15 MV) photon beam. Also, the depth-dose profile dependence on beam radius adds an additional uncertainty in their use for tuning nominal energy. Simulated 40 cm x 40 cm lateral profiles at 5 cm depth in a water phantom show greater sensitivity to both nominal energy and radius. Beam parameters could be determined by comparing only these curves with measured data.

Proceeding of the workshop on gamma-ray spectroscopy utilizing heavy-ion, photon and RI beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oshima, Masumi; Sugita, Michiaki; Hayakawa, Takehito [eds.

1998-03-01

Three time since 1992, we have held the symposia entitled `Joint Spectroscopy Experiments Utilizing JAERI Tandem-Booster Accelerator` at the Tokai Research Establishment. In the symposia, we have mainly discussed the plans of experiments to be done in this joint program. The joint program started in 1994. Several experiments have been made since and some new results have already come up. This symposium `Gamma-ray Spectroscopy utilizing heavy-ion, Photon and RI beams` was held at Tokai Research Establishment of JAERI. Because this symposium is the first occasion after the program started, the first purpose of the symposium is to present and discuss the experimental results so far obtained using the JAERI Tandem-Booster. The second purpose of the symposium is to discuss new possibilities of gamma-ray spectroscopy using new resources such as RI-beam and Photon-beam. The participants from RIKEN, Tohoku University and JAERI Neutron Science Research Center presented the future plans of experiments with RI-beam at each facility. Compared with these nuclear beams, photon beam provides a completely new tool for the {gamma}-ray spectroscopy, which is achieved by inverse Compton scattering between high-energy electron and laser beams. The 23 of the presented papers are indexed individually. (J.P.N.)

Experimental determination of beam quality conversion factors kQ in clinical photon beams using ferrous sulphate (Fricke) dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palm, A.; Mattsson, Olof

2002-01-01

The implementation of protocols based on absorbed dose to water standards requires beam quality conversion factors, k Q . Calculated values of k Q are available for ionization chambers used for reference dosimetry. Ideally, k Q should be experimentally determined at the same beam qualities as that of the user. In this work we measure k Q factors in clinical photon beams and compare them with calculated and measured values. Beam quality conversion factors are determined for clinical photon beams of nominal energies 4 MV, 6 MV, 15 MV, and 25 MV, for commonly used cylindrical ionization chambers. Twelve chambers of eight different types are used. For three of them, no experimental data have previously been available. The experimental procedure is based on measurements with ionization chambers and Fricke dosimetry in the reference beam ( 60 Co γ radiation) and in clinical linear accelerator beams. The k Q values determined in this work generally agree within 0.5% with previously reported experimental values both when %dd(10) x and TPR 20,10 are used for beam quality specification. The agreement with calculated data is generally within 0.5%, except for the 15 MV beam. For this beam the measured values are usually between 0.5% and 1% lower than the data taken from the TG-51 protocol or the TRS-398 code of practice. For three NE2571 chambers and three NE2581 chambers, the maximum observed deviation of individual k Q values is 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively

Peripheral photon and neutron doses from prostate cancer external beam irradiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bezak, Eva; Takam, Rundgham; Marcu, Loredana G

2015-12-01

Peripheral photon and neutron doses from external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) are associated with increased risk of carcinogenesis in the out-of-field organs; thus, dose estimations of secondary radiation are imperative. Peripheral photon and neutron doses from EBRT of prostate carcinoma were measured in Rando phantom. (6)LiF:Mg,Cu,P and (7)LiF:Mg,Cu,P glass-rod thermoluminescence dosemeters (TLDs) were inserted in slices of a Rando phantom followed by exposure to 80 Gy with 18-MV photon four-field 3D-CRT technique. The TLDs were calibrated using 6- and 18-MV X-ray beam. Neutron dose equivalents measured with CR-39 etch-track detectors were used to derive readout-to-neutron dose conversion factor for (6)LiF:Mg,Cu,P TLDs. Average neutron dose equivalents per 1 Gy of isocentre dose were 3.8±0.9 mSv Gy(-1) for thyroid and 7.0±5.4 mSv Gy(-1) for colon. For photons, the average dose equivalents per 1 Gy of isocentre dose were 0.2±0.1 mSv Gy(-1) for thyroid and 8.1±9.7 mSv Gy(-1) for colon. Paired (6)LiF:Mg,Cu,P and (7)LiF:Mg,Cu,P TLDs can be used to measure photon and neutron doses simultaneously. Organs in close proximity to target received larger doses from photons than those from neutrons whereas distally located organs received higher neutron versus photon dose. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The response of a radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter in megavoltage photon and electron beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Araki, Fujio; Ohno, Takeshi

2014-12-01

This study investigated the response of a radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter (RGD) in megavoltage photon and electron beams. The RGD response was compared with ion chamber measurements for 4-18 MV photons and 6-20 MeV electrons in plastic water phantoms. The response was also calculated via Monte Carlo (MC) simulations with EGSnrc/egs_chamber and Cavity user-codes, respectively. In addition, the response of the RGD cavity was analyzed as a function of field sizes and depths according to Burlin's general cavity theory. The perturbation correction factor, PQ, in the RGD cavity was also estimated from MC simulations for photon and electron beams. The calculated and measured RGD energy response at reference conditions with a 10 × 10 cm(2) field and 10 cm depth in photons was lower by up to 2.5% with increasing energy. The variation in RGD response in the field size range of 5 × 5 cm(2) to 20 × 20 cm(2) was 3.9% and 0.7%, at 10 cm depth for 4 and 18 MV, respectively. The depth dependence of the RGD response was constant within 1% for energies above 6 MV but it increased by 2.6% and 1.6% for a large (20 × 20 cm(2)) field at 4 and 6 MV, respectively. The dose contributions from photon interactions (1 - d) in the RGD cavity, according to Burlin's cavity theory, decreased with increasing energy and decreasing field size. The variation in (1 - d) between field sizes became larger with increasing depth for the lower energies of 4 and 6 MV. PQ for the RGD cavity was almost constant between 0.96 and 0.97 at 10 MV energies and above. Meanwhile, PQ depends strongly on field size and depth for 4 and 6 MV photons. In electron beams, the RGD response at a reference depth, dref, varied by less than 1% over the electron energy range but was on average 4% lower than the response for 6 MV photons. The RGD response for photon beams depends on both (1 - d) and perturbation effects in the RGD cavity. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the energy dependence of RGD response by

The Monte Carlo simulation of the Ladon photon beam facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strangio, C.

1976-01-01

The backward compton scattering of laser light against high energy electrons has been simulated with a Monte Carlo method. The main features of the produced photon beam are reported as well as a careful description of the numerical calculation

Laser-driven particle and photon beams and some applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ledingham, K W D; Galster, W

2010-01-01

Outstanding progress has been made in high-power laser technology in the last 10 years with laser powers reaching petawatt (PW) values. At present, there are 15 PW lasers built or being built around the world and plans are afoot for new, even higher power, lasers reaching values of exawatt (EW) or even zetawatt (ZW) powers. Petawatt lasers generate electric fields of 10 12 V m -1 with a large fraction of the total pulse energy being converted to relativistic electrons with energies reaching in excess of 1 GeV. In turn these electrons result in the generation of beams of protons, heavy ions, neutrons and high-energy photons. These laser-driven particle beams have encouraged many to think of carrying out experiments normally associated with conventional nuclear accelerators and reactors. To this end a number of introductory articles have been written under a trial name 'Laser Nuclear Physics' (Ledingham and Norreys 1999 Contemp. Phys. 40 367, Ledingham et al 2002 Europhys. News. 33 120, Ledingham et al 2003 Science 300 1107, Takabe et al 2001 J. Plasma Fusion Res. 77 1094). However, even greater strides have been made in the last 3 or 4 years in laser technology and it is timely to reassess the potential of laser-driven particle and photon beams. It must be acknowledged right from the outset that to date laser-driven particle beams have yet to compete favourably with conventional nuclear accelerator-generated beams in any way and so this is not a paper comparing laser and conventional accelerators. However, occasionally throughout the paper as a reality check, it will be mentioned what conventional nuclear accelerators can do.

Laser-driven particle and photon beams and some applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ledingham, K W D; Galster, W, E-mail: K.Ledingham@phys.strath.ac.u [SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG (United Kingdom)

2010-04-15

Outstanding progress has been made in high-power laser technology in the last 10 years with laser powers reaching petawatt (PW) values. At present, there are 15 PW lasers built or being built around the world and plans are afoot for new, even higher power, lasers reaching values of exawatt (EW) or even zetawatt (ZW) powers. Petawatt lasers generate electric fields of 10{sup 12} V m{sup -1} with a large fraction of the total pulse energy being converted to relativistic electrons with energies reaching in excess of 1 GeV. In turn these electrons result in the generation of beams of protons, heavy ions, neutrons and high-energy photons. These laser-driven particle beams have encouraged many to think of carrying out experiments normally associated with conventional nuclear accelerators and reactors. To this end a number of introductory articles have been written under a trial name 'Laser Nuclear Physics' (Ledingham and Norreys 1999 Contemp. Phys. 40 367, Ledingham et al 2002 Europhys. News. 33 120, Ledingham et al 2003 Science 300 1107, Takabe et al 2001 J. Plasma Fusion Res. 77 1094). However, even greater strides have been made in the last 3 or 4 years in laser technology and it is timely to reassess the potential of laser-driven particle and photon beams. It must be acknowledged right from the outset that to date laser-driven particle beams have yet to compete favourably with conventional nuclear accelerator-generated beams in any way and so this is not a paper comparing laser and conventional accelerators. However, occasionally throughout the paper as a reality check, it will be mentioned what conventional nuclear accelerators can do.

Final-photon polarization in the scattering of photons by high-energy electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, J.; Choi, S.Y.; Ie, S.H.; Song, H.S.; Good, R.H. Jr.

1987-01-01

A general method for calculating the polarization of the outgoing photon beam in any reaction is presented. As an example the method is applied to the high-energy photon beam produced in Compton scattering of a laser beam by a high-energy electron beam. The Stokes parameters of the outgoing photon beam, relative to a unit vector normal to the photon momentum and including their dependence on the polarization of incident photon and electron beams, are obtained explicitly. It is expected that this method will be useful, both in photon production reactions and in the subsequent high-energy photon reactions

Corpuscular Model of Two-Beam Interference and Double-Slit Experiments with Single Photons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jin, Fengping; Yuan, Shengjun; De Raedt, Hans; Michielsen, Kristel; Miyashita, Seiji

We introduce an event-based corpuscular simulation model that reproduces the wave mechanical results of single-photon double-slit and two-beam interference experiments and (of a one-to-one copy of an experimental realization) of a single-photon interference experiment with a Fresnel biprism. The

New limits on hidden photons from past electron beam dumps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreas, Sarah; Niebuhr, Carsten; Ringwald, Andreas

2012-09-01

Hidden sectors with light extra U(1) gauge bosons, so called hidden photons, have recently attracted some attention because they are a common feature of physics beyond the Standard Model like string theory and SUSY and additionally are phenomenologically of great interest regarding recent astrophysical observations. The hidden photon is already constrained by various laboratory experiments and presently searched for in running as well as upcoming experiments. We summarize the current status of limits on hidden photons from past electron beam dump experiments including two new limits from such experiments at KEK and Orsay that have so far not been considered. All our limits take into account the experimental acceptances obtained from Monte Carlo simulations.

New limits on hidden photons from past electron beam dumps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andreas, Sarah; Niebuhr, Carsten; Ringwald, Andreas

2012-09-15

Hidden sectors with light extra U(1) gauge bosons, so called hidden photons, have recently attracted some attention because they are a common feature of physics beyond the Standard Model like string theory and SUSY and additionally are phenomenologically of great interest regarding recent astrophysical observations. The hidden photon is already constrained by various laboratory experiments and presently searched for in running as well as upcoming experiments. We summarize the current status of limits on hidden photons from past electron beam dump experiments including two new limits from such experiments at KEK and Orsay that have so far not been considered. All our limits take into account the experimental acceptances obtained from Monte Carlo simulations.

Definition of parameters for quality assurance of flattening filter free (FFF) photon beams in radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fogliata, A.; Garcia, R.; Knöös, T.; Nicolini, G.; Clivio, A.; Vanetti, E.; Khamphan, C.; Cozzi, L.

2012-01-01

Purpose: Flattening filter free (FFF) beams generated by medical linear accelerators have recently started to be used in radiotherapy clinical practice. Such beams present fundamental differences with respect to the standard filter flattened (FF) beams, making the generally used dosimetric parameters and definitions not always viable. The present study will propose possible definitions and suggestions for some dosimetric parameters for use in quality assurance of FFF beams generated by medical linacs in radiotherapy. Methods: The main characteristics of the photon beams have been analyzed using specific data generated by a Varian TrueBeam linac having both FFF and FF beams of 6 and 10 MV energy, respectively. Results: Definitions for dose profile parameters are suggested starting from the renormalization of the FFF with respect to the corresponding FF beam. From this point the flatness concept has been translated into one of “unflatness” and other definitions have been proposed, maintaining a strict parallelism between FFF and FF parameter concepts. Conclusions: Ideas for quality controls used in establishing a quality assurance program when introducing FFF beams into the clinical environment are given here, keeping them similar to those used for standard FF beams. By following the suggestions in this report, the authors foresee that the introduction of FFF beams into a clinical radiotherapy environment will be as safe and well controlled as standard beam modalities using the existing guidelines.

Surface dose measurements in and out of field. Implications for breast radiotherapy with megavoltage photon beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lonski, Peta; Kron, Tomas [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne (Australia); RMIT Univ., Melbourne (Australia); Ramachandran, Prabhakar; Franich, Rick [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne (Australia)

2017-07-01

This study examines the difference in surface dose between flat and flattening filter free (FFF) photon beams in the context of breast radiotherapy. The surface dose was measured for 6 MV, 6 MV FFF, 10 MV, 10 MV FFF and 18 MV photon beams using a thin window ionisation chamber for various field sizes. Profiles were acquired to ascertain the change in surface dose off-axis. Out-of-field measurements were included in a clinically representative half beam block tangential breast field. In the field centres of FFF beams the surface dose was found to be increased for small fields and decreased for large fields compared to flat beams. For FFF beams, surface dose was found to decrease off-axis and resulted in lower surface dose out-of-field compared to flat beams.

Cascaded two-photon spectroscopy of Yb atoms with a transportable effusive atomic beam apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Minsoo; Yoon, Tai Hyun

2013-01-01

We present a transportable effusive atomic beam apparatus for cascaded two-photon spectroscopy of the dipole-forbidden transition (6s 2 1 S 0 ↔ 6s7s 1 S 0 ) of Yb atoms. An ohmic-heating effusive oven is designed to have a reservoir volume of 1.6 cm 3 and a high degree of atomic beam collimation angle of 30 mrad. The new atomic beam apparatus allows us to detect the spontaneously cascaded two-photons from the 6s7s 1 S 0 state via the intercombination 6s6p 3 P 1 state with a high signal-to-noise ratio even at the temperature of 340 °C. This is made possible in our apparatus because of the enhanced atomic beam flux and superior detection solid angle.

Compact high-efficiency vortex beam emitter based on a silicon photonics micro-ring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Shimao; Ding, Yunhong; Guan, Xiaowei

2018-01-01

Photonic integrated devices that emit vortex beam carrying orbital angular momentum are becoming key components for multiple applications. Here we propose and demonstrate a high-efficiency vortex beam emitter based on a silicon micro-ring resonator integrated with a metal mirror. Such a compact...

Using of germanium detectors in nuclear experiments with photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapitonov, I.M.; Tutin, I.A.

1995-01-01

Full text: The study of atomic nuclei with real photons is very important source of the information about nuclear structure. In such experiments the basic electromagnetic interaction between the photon and the target nuclei is well known. Experiments with photon beams become especially valuable when outcoming particles are also photons. In these cases completely model-independent information on nuclear structure can be extracted. The use of semiconductor Ge-spectrometers with excellent resolution and large sensitive volumes for recording outcoming photons gives us such an additional important advantage as possibility to observe individual closely spaced levels of the final nuclei. In the report an experience of using Ge-detectors in two types of nuclear experiments is described. Both of them - nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) and nuclear photodisintegration - are carried out in beams of bremsstrahlung gamma radiation. The central element of the setup recording gamma quanta in these experiments is germanium detector. NRF is unique method for studying low-lying excited nuclear states. The spins of the states can be determined easily from the measured angular distributions of scattered photons. Model independent parity assignments in NRF can be achieved by measuring polarization observables. There are two experimental possibilities: the use of linearly polarized photons (off-axis bremsstrahlung) in the entrance channel and the measurement of the linear polarization of the scattered photons using Compton polarimeters. For both methods several germanium detectors (3-5) must be used simultaneously. Nowadays Compton polarimeter can also be done from single large Ge-crystal by segmenting the outer electrode. Advantages and drawbacks of the methods and background conditions are discussed and requirements to Ge-crystals are formulated. The importance of using a new generation of electron accelerators with continuous wave (cw) beams for NRF-measurements is stressed. The

Correlated two-photon interference in a dual-beam Michelson interferometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwiat, P.G.; Vareka, W.A.; Hong, C.K.; Nathel, H.; Chiao, R.Y.

1990-01-01

We report on an interference effect arising from a two-photon entangled state produced in a potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystal pumped by an ultraviolet argon-ion laser. Two conjugate beams of signal and idler photons were injected in a parallel configuration into a single Michelson interferometer, and detected separately by two photomultipliers, while the difference in its arm lengths was slowly scanned. The coincidence rate exhibited fringes with a visibility of nearly 50%, and a period given by half the ultraviolet (not the signal or idler) wavelength, while the singles rate exhibited no fringes

Benchmarking of Touschek Beam Lifetime Calculations for the Advanced Photon Source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, A.; Yang, B.

2017-06-25

Particle loss from Touschek scattering is one of the most significant issues faced by present and future synchrotron light source storage rings. For example, the predicted, Touschek-dominated beam lifetime for the Advanced Photon Source (APS) Upgrade lattice in 48-bunch, 200-mA timing mode is only ~ 2 h. In order to understand the reliability of the predicted lifetime, a series of measurements with various beam parameters was performed on the present APS storage ring. This paper first describes the entire process of beam lifetime measurement, then compares measured lifetime with the calculated one by applying the measured beam parameters. The results show very good agreement.

Full control of far-field radiation via photonic integrated circuits decorated with plasmonic nanoantennas.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yi-Zhi; Feng, Li-Shuang; Bachelot, Renaud; Blaize, Sylvain; Ding, Wei

2017-07-24

We theoretically develop a hybrid architecture consisting of photonic integrated circuit and plasmonic nanoantennas to fully control optical far-field radiation with unprecedented flexibility. By exploiting asymmetric and lateral excitation from silicon waveguides, single gold nanorod and cascaded nanorod pair can function as component radiation pixels, featured by full 2π phase coverage and nanoscale footprint. These radiation pixels allow us to design scalable on-chip devices in a wavefront engineering fashion. We numerically demonstrate beam collimation with 30° out of the incident plane and nearly diffraction limited divergence angle. We also present high-numerical-aperture (NA) beam focusing with NA ≈0.65 and vector beam generation (the radially-polarized mode) with the mode similarity greater than 44%. This concept and approach constitutes a designable optical platform, which might be a future bridge between integrated photonics and metasurface functionalities.

Photon production at the interaction point of the ILC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Appleby, R. [Manchester Univ., Cockcroft Institute and the University of Oxford Road, Manchester (United Kingdom); Bambade, P. [Univ Paris-Sud, LAL, CNRS/IN2P3, 91 - Orsay (France)

2008-01-15

The intense beam-beam effect at the interaction point of the International Linear Collider (ILC) causes large disruption of the beams and the production of photons. These photons, arising dominantly through Beamstrahlung emission, are problematic for the machine design as they need to be transported and dumped in a controlled way. In this work, we perform simulations of the beam-beam interaction to predict photon production rates and distributions for the different beam parameters considered at ILC. The results are expressed in terms of a set of cones of excluded power, allowing to define the beam-stay-clear requirements relevant for different cases and contexts. A comparison is also made with theoretical expectations. The suggested photon cone half-opening angles are 0.75 and 0.85 mrad in the horizontal and vertical planes, respectively. These cones cover all machine energies and parameter sets, and include the low power Compton photons. (authors)

Liquid scintillator for 2D dosimetry for high-energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poenisch, Falk; Archambault, Louis; Briere, Tina Marie; Sahoo, Narayan; Mohan, Radhe; Beddar, Sam; Gillin, Michael T.

2009-01-01

Complex radiation therapy techniques require dosimetric verification of treatment planning and delivery. The authors investigated a liquid scintillator (LS) system for application for real-time high-energy photon beam dosimetry. The system was comprised of a transparent acrylic tank filled with liquid scintillating material, an opaque outer tank, and a CCD camera. A series of images was acquired when the tank with liquid scintillator was irradiated with a 6 MV photon beam, and the light data measured with the CCD camera were filtered to correct for scattering of the optical light inside the liquid scintillator. Depth-dose and lateral profiles as well as two-dimensional (2D) dose distributions were found to agree with results from the treatment planning system. Further, the corrected light output was found to be linear with dose, dose rate independent, and is robust for single or multiple acquisitions. The short time needed for image acquisition and processing could make this system ideal for fast verification of the beam characteristics of the treatment machine. This new detector system shows a potential usefulness of the LS for 2D QA.

Liquid scintillator for 2D dosimetry for high-energy photon beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poenisch, Falk; Archambault, Louis; Briere, Tina Marie; Sahoo, Narayan; Mohan, Radhe; Beddar, Sam; Gillin, Michael T. [Department of Radiation Physics, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard., Unit 94, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States)

2009-05-15

Complex radiation therapy techniques require dosimetric verification of treatment planning and delivery. The authors investigated a liquid scintillator (LS) system for application for real-time high-energy photon beam dosimetry. The system was comprised of a transparent acrylic tank filled with liquid scintillating material, an opaque outer tank, and a CCD camera. A series of images was acquired when the tank with liquid scintillator was irradiated with a 6 MV photon beam, and the light data measured with the CCD camera were filtered to correct for scattering of the optical light inside the liquid scintillator. Depth-dose and lateral profiles as well as two-dimensional (2D) dose distributions were found to agree with results from the treatment planning system. Further, the corrected light output was found to be linear with dose, dose rate independent, and is robust for single or multiple acquisitions. The short time needed for image acquisition and processing could make this system ideal for fast verification of the beam characteristics of the treatment machine. This new detector system shows a potential usefulness of the LS for 2D QA.

Hidden photons in beam dump experiments and in connection with dark matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andreas, Sarah

2012-12-15

Hidden sectors with light extra U(1) gauge bosons, so-called hidden photons, recently received much interest as natural feature of beyond standard model scenarios like string theory and SUSY and because of their possible connection to dark matter. This paper presents limits on hidden photons from past electron beam dump experiments including two new limits from experiments at KEK and Orsay. Additionally, various hidden sector models containing both a hidden photon and a dark matter candidate are discussed with respect to their viability and potential signatures in direct detection.

Hidden photons in beam dump experiments and in connection with dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreas, Sarah

2012-12-01

Hidden sectors with light extra U(1) gauge bosons, so-called hidden photons, recently received much interest as natural feature of beyond standard model scenarios like string theory and SUSY and because of their possible connection to dark matter. This paper presents limits on hidden photons from past electron beam dump experiments including two new limits from experiments at KEK and Orsay. Additionally, various hidden sector models containing both a hidden photon and a dark matter candidate are discussed with respect to their viability and potential signatures in direct detection.

Propagation of optical vortex beams and nucleation of vortex-antivortex pairs in disordered nonlinear photonic lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Yeong-Kwon; Kim, Ki-Hong

2014-01-01

The propagation of optical vortex beams through disordered nonlinear photonic lattices is numerically studied. The vortex beams are generated by using a superposition of several Gaussian laser beams arranged in a radially-symmetric manner. The paraxial nonlinear Schroedinger equation describing the longitudinal propagation of the beam array through nonlinear triangular photonic lattices with two-dimensional disorder is solved numerically by using the split-step Fourier method. We find that due to the spatial disorder, the vortex beam is destabilized after propagating a finite distance and new vortex-antivortex pairs are nucleated at the positions of perfect destructive interference. We also find that in the presence of a self-focusing nonlinearity, the vortex-antivortex pair nucleation is suppressed and the vortex beam becomes more stable, while a self-defocusing nonlinearity enhances the vortex-antivortex pair nucleation.

Photon technology. Hard photon technology; Photon technology. Hard photon gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

Research results of hard photon technology have been summarized as a part of novel technology development highly utilizing the quantum nature of photon. Hard photon technology refers to photon beam technologies which use photon in the 0.1 to 200 nm wavelength region. Hard photon has not been used in industry due to the lack of suitable photon sources and optical devices. However, hard photon in this wavelength region is expected to bring about innovations in such areas as ultrafine processing and material synthesis due to its atom selective reaction, inner shell excitation reaction, and spatially high resolution. Then, technological themes and possibility have been surveyed. Although there are principle proposes and their verification of individual technologies for the technologies of hard photon generation, regulation and utilization, they are still far from the practical applications. For the photon source technology, the laser diode pumped driver laser technology, laser plasma photon source technology, synchrotron radiation photon source technology, and vacuum ultraviolet photon source technology are presented. For the optical device technology, the multi-layer film technology for beam mirrors and the non-spherical lens processing technology are introduced. Also are described the reduction lithography technology, hard photon excitation process, and methods of analysis and measurement. 430 refs., 165 figs., 23 tabs.

Characteristic of EBT-XD and EBT3 radiochromic film dosimetry for photon and proton beams

Science.gov (United States)

Khachonkham, Suphalak; Dreindl, Ralf; Heilemann, Gerd; Lechner, Wolfgang; Fuchs, Hermann; Palmans, Hugo; Georg, Dietmar; Kuess, Peter

2018-03-01

Recently, a new type of radiochromic film, the EBT-XD film, has been introduced for high dose radiotherapy. The EBT-XD film contains the same structure as the EBT3 film but has a slightly different composition and a thinner active layer. This study benchmarks the EBT-XD against EBT3 film for 6 MV and 10 MV photon beams, as well as for 97.4 MeV and 148.2 MeV proton beams and 15-100 kV x-rays. Dosimetric and film reading characteristics, such as post irradiation darkening, film orientation effect, lateral response artifact (LRA), film sensitivity, energy and beam quality dependency were investigated. Furthermore, quenching effects in the Bragg peak were investigated for a single proton beam energy for both film types, in addition measurements were performed in a spread-out Bragg peak. EBT-XD films showed the same characteristic on film darkening as EBT3. The effects between portrait and landscape orientation were reduced by 3.1% (in pixel value) for EBT-XD compared to EBT3 at a dose of 2000 cGy. The LRA is reduced for EBT-XD films for all investigated dose ranges. The sensitivity of EBT-XD films is superior to EBT3 for doses higher than 500 cGy. In addition, EBT-XD showed a similar dosimetric response for photon and proton irradiation with low energy and beam quality dependency. A quenching effect of 10% was found for both film types. The slight decrease in the thickness of the active layer and different composition configuration of EBT-XD resulted in a reduced film orientation effect and LRA, as well as a sensitivity increase in high-dose regions for both photon and proton beams. Overall, the EBT-XD film improved regarding film reading characteristics and showed advantages in the high-dose region for photon and proton beams.

Characteristic of EBT-XD and EBT3 radiochromic film dosimetry for photon and proton beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Khachonkham, Suphalak; Dreindl, Ralf; Heilemann, Gerd; Lechner, Wolfgang; Fuchs, Hermann; Palmans, Hugo; Georg, Dietmar; Kuess, Peter

2018-03-15

Recently, a new type of radiochromic film, the EBT-XD film, has been introduced for high dose radiotherapy. The EBT-XD film contains the same structure as the EBT3 film but has a slightly different composition and a thinner active layer. This study benchmarks the EBT-XD against EBT3 film for 6 MV and 10 MV photon beams, as well as for 97.4 MeV and 148.2 MeV proton beams and 15-100 kV x-rays. Dosimetric and film reading characteristics, such as post irradiation darkening, film orientation effect, lateral response artifact (LRA), film sensitivity, energy and beam quality dependency were investigated. Furthermore, quenching effects in the Bragg peak were investigated for a single proton beam energy for both film types, in addition measurements were performed in a spread-out Bragg peak. EBT-XD films showed the same characteristic on film darkening as EBT3. The effects between portrait and landscape orientation were reduced by 3.1% (in pixel value) for EBT-XD compared to EBT3 at a dose of 2000 cGy. The LRA is reduced for EBT-XD films for all investigated dose ranges. The sensitivity of EBT-XD films is superior to EBT3 for doses higher than 500 cGy. In addition, EBT-XD showed a similar dosimetric response for photon and proton irradiation with low energy and beam quality dependency. A quenching effect of 10% was found for both film types. The slight decrease in the thickness of the active layer and different composition configuration of EBT-XD resulted in a reduced film orientation effect and LRA, as well as a sensitivity increase in high-dose regions for both photon and proton beams. Overall, the EBT-XD film improved regarding film reading characteristics and showed advantages in the high-dose region for photon and proton beams.

Optical cone beam tomography of Cherenkov-mediated signals for fast 3D dosimetry of x-ray photon beams in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Glaser, Adam K; Andreozzi, Jacqueline M; Zhang, Rongxiao; Pogue, Brian W; Gladstone, David J

2015-07-01

To test the use of a three-dimensional (3D) optical cone beam computed tomography reconstruction algorithm, for estimation of the imparted 3D dose distribution from megavoltage photon beams in a water tank for quality assurance, by imaging the induced Cherenkov-excited fluorescence (CEF). An intensified charge-coupled device coupled to a standard nontelecentric camera lens was used to tomographically acquire two-dimensional (2D) projection images of CEF from a complex multileaf collimator (MLC) shaped 6 MV linear accelerator x-ray photon beam operating at a dose rate of 600 MU/min. The resulting projections were used to reconstruct the 3D CEF light distribution, a potential surrogate of imparted dose, using a Feldkamp-Davis-Kress cone beam back reconstruction algorithm. Finally, the reconstructed light distributions were compared to the expected dose values from one-dimensional diode scans, 2D film measurements, and the 3D distribution generated from the clinical Varian ECLIPSE treatment planning system using a gamma index analysis. A Monte Carlo derived correction was applied to the Cherenkov reconstructions to account for beam hardening artifacts. 3D light volumes were successfully reconstructed over a 400 × 400 × 350 mm(3) volume at a resolution of 1 mm. The Cherenkov reconstructions showed agreement with all comparative methods and were also able to recover both inter- and intra-MLC leaf leakage. Based upon a 3%/3 mm criterion, the experimental Cherenkov light measurements showed an 83%-99% pass fraction depending on the chosen threshold dose. The results from this study demonstrate the use of optical cone beam computed tomography using CEF for the profiling of the imparted dose distribution from large area megavoltage photon beams in water.

Output calibration in solid water for high energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reft, C.S.

1989-01-01

The AAPM Protocol recommends the use of water, polystyrene or acrylic media for measuring the output of high energy photon beams. It provides the appropriate restricted mass stopping powers and mass energy absorption coefficients for converting the dose to these media to dose to water. A water-equivalent solid has been developed for dosimetric applications. [C. Constantinou, F. Attix, and B. Paliwal, Med. Phys. 9, 436 (1982)]. Calculated values for the restricted mass stopping powers and mass energy absorption coefficients have been published for this material. [A. Ho and B. Paliwal, Med. Phys. 13, 403 (1986)]. The accuracy of these calculations was investigated by making output measurements, following the Protocol, with a Farmer type chamber in four materials for Co-60, 4, 6, 10, 18, and 24 MV photon beams. The results show that the scaled dose to water for the different media agree to better than 1%, and the analysis supports the methodology of the Protocol for obtaining the dose to water from the different media

Influence of the Integral Quality Monitor transmission detector on high energy photon beams. A multi-centre study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casar, Bozidar [Institute of Oncology, Ljubljana (Slovenia). Dept. of Radiation Physics; Pasler, Marlies [Lake Constance Radiation Oncology Center, Singen and Friedrichshafen (Germany); Wegener, Sonja [Wuerzburg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Radiation Oncology; and others

2017-10-01

The influence of the Integral Quality Monitor (IQM) transmission detector on photon beam properties was evaluated in a preclinical phase, using data from nine participating centres: (i) the change of beam quality (beam hardening), (ii) the influence on surface dose, and (iii) the attenuation of the IQM detector. For 6 different nominal photon energies (4 standard, 2 FFF) and square field sizes from 1 x 1 cm{sup 2} to 20 x 20 cm{sup 2}, the effect of IQM on beam quality was assessed from the PDD{sub 20,10} values obtained from the percentage dose depth (PDD) curves, measured with and without IQM in the beam path. The change in surface dose with/without IQM was assessed for all available energies and field sizes from 4 x 4 cm{sup 2} to 20 x 20 cm{sup 2}. The transmission factor was calculated by means of measured absorbed dose at 10 cm depth for all available energies and field sizes. (i) A small (0.11-0.53%) yet statistically significant beam hardening effect was observed, depending on photon beam energy. (ii) The increase in surface dose correlated with field size (p < 0.01) for all photon energies except for 18 MV. The change in surface dose was smaller than 3.3% in all cases except for the 20 x 20 cm{sup 2} field and 10 MV FFF beam, where it reached 8.1%. (iii) For standard beams, transmission of the IQM showed a weak dependence on the field size, and a pronounced dependence on the beam energy (0.9412 for 6 MV to 0.9578 for 18 MV and 0.9440 for 6 MV FFF; 0.9533 for 10 MV FFF). The effects of the IQM detector on photon beam properties were found to be small yet statistically significant. The magnitudes of changes which were found justify treating IQM either as tray factors within the treatment planning system (TPS) for a particular energy or alternatively as modified outputs for specific beam energy of linear accelerators, which eases the introduction of the IQM into clinical practice.

Accelerator-based atomic physics experiments with photon and ion beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, B.M.; Jones, K.W.; Meron, M.

1984-01-01

Accelerator-based atomic physics experiments at Brookhaven presently use heavy-ion beams from the Dual MP Tandem Van de Graaff Accelerator Facility for atomic physics experiments of several types. Work is presently in progress to develop experiments which will use the intense photon beams which will be available in the near future from the ultraviolet (uv) and x-ray rings of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). Plans are described for experiments at the NSLS and an exciting development in instrumentation for heavy-ion experiments is summarized

Pattern generation using axicon lens beam shaping in two-photon polymerisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhuian, B.; Winfield, R.J.; O'Brien, S.; Crean, G.M.

2007-01-01

The fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures by two-photon polymerisation has been widely reported as a viable route to the development of photonic crystals, rotors, bridges and other complex artefacts requiring nanoscale resolution. Conventionally, single point serial writing is used to write the structures but recently multipoint beam delivery using beam division optics has been reported as a method of introducing parallel processing. In this paper we present an alternative and novel approach using an axicon lens to give profiled beam delivery. This enables complete three-dimensional annular structure fabrication without the use of scanning stages. In addition, the concept of axicon delivery is developed further to investigate three-dimensional structure as a function of axicon geometry. A Ti:sapphire laser, with wavelength 795 nm, 80 MHz repetition rate, 100 fs pulse duration and an average power of 700 mW, was used to initiate two-photon polymerisation. The axicon was used, in combination with a 100x microscope objective, to form representative three-dimensional structures based on the annular cell with varying diameter. The structures were written in a Zr-loaded resin prepared on a glass substrate using dip coating deposition of a Zr/PMMA hybrid prepared by the sol-gel method. Annuli with diameters up to 50 μm were characterised in terms of topography and surface roughness using SEM and Zygo interferometer. The writing technique was also extended to fabrication of stacked structures

Six-beam homodyne laser Doppler vibrometry based on silicon photonics technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yanlu; Zhu, Jinghao; Duperron, Matthieu; O'Brien, Peter; Schüler, Ralf; Aasmul, Soren; de Melis, Mirko; Kersemans, Mathias; Baets, Roel

2018-02-05

This paper describes an integrated six-beam homodyne laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) system based on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) full platform technology, with on-chip photo-diodes and phase modulators. Electronics and optics are also implemented around the integrated photonic circuit (PIC) to enable a simultaneous six-beam measurement. Measurement of a propagating guided elastic wave in an aluminum plate (speed ≈ 909 m/s @ 61.5 kHz) is demonstrated.

Water-equivalent one-dimensional scintillating fiber-optic dosimeter for measuring therapeutic photon beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Jinsoo; Won Jang, Kyoung; Jae Yoo, Wook; Han, Ki-Tek; Park, Jang-Yeon; Lee, Bongsoo

2012-01-01

In this study, we fabricated a one-dimensional scintillating fiber-optic dosimeter, which consists of 9 scintillating fiber-optic dosimeters, septa, and PMMA blocks for measuring surface and percentage depth doses of a therapeutic photon beam. Each dosimeter embedded in the 1-D scintillating fiber-optic dosimeter is composed of square type organic scintillators and plastic optical fibers. Also black PVC films are used as septa to minimize cross-talk between the scintillating fiber-optic dosimeters. To construct a dosimeter system, a 1-D scintillating fiber-optic dosimeter and a CMOS image sensor were combined with 20 m-length plastic optical fibers. Using the dosimeter system, we measured surface and percentage depth doses of 6 and 15 MV photon beams and compared the results with those of EBT films and an ionization chamber. - Highlights: ► Fabrication of a one-dimensional scintillating fiber-optic dosimeter. ► The one-dimensional scintillating fiber-optic dosimeter has 9 scintillating fiber-optic dosimeters. ► Measurements of surface and percentage depth doses of a therapeutic photon beam. ► The results were compared with those of EBT films and an ionization chamber.

The bremsstrahlung tagged photon beam in Hall B at JLab

CERN Document Server

Sober, D I; Longhi, A; Matthews, S K; O'Brien, J T; Berman, B L; Briscoe, W J; Cole, P L; Connelly, J P; Dodge, W R; Murphy, L Y; Philips, S A; Dugger, M K; Lawrence, D; Ritchie, B G; Smith, E S; Lambert, J M; Anciant, E; Audit, G; Auger, T; Marchand, C; Klusman, M; Napolitano, J; Khandaker, M A; Salgado, C W; Sarty, A J

2000-01-01

We describe the design and commissioning of the photon tagging beamline installed in experimental Hall B at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab). This system can tag photon energies over a range from 20% to 95% of the incident electron energy, and is capable of operation with beam energies up to 6.1 GeV. A single dipole magnet is combined with a hodoscope containing two planar arrays of plastic scintillators to detect energy-degraded electrons from a thin bremsstrahlung radiator. The first layer of 384 partially overlapping small scintillators provides photon energy resolution, while the second layer of 61 larger scintillators provides the timing resolution necessary to form a coincidence with the corresponding nuclear interaction triggered by the tagged photon. The definitions of overlap channels in the first counter plane and of geometric correlation between the two planes are determined using digitized time information from the individual counters. Auxiliary beamline devices are briefl...

Comparison of the NPL water calorimeter with other dosimetric techniques for high energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosser, K.E.; Williams, A.J.

1999-01-01

At present, the primary standard of absorbed dose to water at NPL in high energy photon beams is a graphite calorimeter. However the quantity of interest in radiation dosimetry is absorbed dose to water. Therefore, a new absorbed dose to water standard based on water calorimetry is being developed at NPL. The calorimeter operates at 4 deg. C, with temperature control being provided by a combination of liquid and air cooling. The sealed glass inner vessel of the calorimeter has been designed to minimise the effect of non-water materials on the measurement of absorbed dose. Measurements of absorbed dose to water made in 6, 10 and 19 MV photon beams agreed within the measurement uncertainties with those determined using the primary standard graphite calorimeter. Also the absorbed dose to water measured using the water calorimeter agrees with that based on the air kerma standards for 60 Co γ-radiation within the uncertainties. The development of the water calorimeter will lead to a very robust dosimetry system at NPL, where the absorbed dose to water can be determined using three independent techniques. (author)

Performance of EPI diodes as dosimeters for photon beam radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, Thais C. dos; Bizetto, Cesar A., E-mail: ccbueno@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Neves-Junior, Wellington F.P.; Haddad, Cecilia M.K. [Hospital Sirio Libanes (HSL), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Goncalves, Josemary A.C.; Bueno, Carmen C. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Sao Paulo (PUC-SP), SP (Brazil)

2011-07-01

In this work we present the preliminary results about the performance of an epitaxial (EPI) diode as on-line dosimeter for photon beam radiotherapy. The diode used was processed at University of Hamburg on n-type 75 {mu}m thick epitaxial silicon layer grown on a highly doped n-type 300 {mu}m thick Czochralski (Cz) silicon substrate. The measurements were performed with a diode which not received any type of pre-dose. In order to use this device as a dosimeter, it was enclosed in a black polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) probe. The diode was connected to an electrometer Keithley 6517B in the photovoltaic mode. During all measurements, the diode was held between PMMA plates, placed at 10.0 cm depth and centered in a radiation field of 10 x 10 cm{sup 2}, with the source-to-surface distance (SSD) kept at 100 cm. The short-term repeatability was measured with photon beams of 6 and 18 MV energy by registering five consecutive current signals for the same radiation dose. The current signals induced showed good instantaneous repeatability of the diode, characterized by a smallest coefficient of variation (CV) of 0.21%. Furthermore, the dose-response curves of the diode were quite linear with the highest charge sensitivity achieved of 5.0 {mu}C/Gy. It worth noting that still remains to be investigated the pre-dose influence on epitaxial silicon diode response in radiotherapy photon beam dosimetry, the long term stability and the radiation hardness of these diodes for absorbed doses higher than that investigated in this work. All these studies are under way. (author)

The comparison of Co-60 and 4MV photons matching dosimetry during half-beam technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cakir, Aydin; Bilge, Hatice; Dadasbilge, Alpar; Kuecuecuek, Halil; Okutan, Murat; Merdan Fayda, Emre

2005-01-01

In this phantom study, we tried to compare matching dosimetry differences between half-blocking of Co-60 and asymmetric collimation of the 4MV photons during craniospinal irradiation. The dose distributions are compared and discussed. Firstly, some gaps with different sizes are left between cranial and spinal field borders. Secondly, the fields are overlapped in the same sizes. We irradiate the films located in water-equivalent solid phantoms with Co-60 and 4MV photon beams. This study indicates that the field placement errors in +/- 1mm are acceptable for both Co-60 and 4MV photon energies during craniospinal irradiation with half-beam block technique. Within these limits the dose variations are specified in +/- 5%. However, the setup errors that are more than 1mm are unacceptable for both asymmetric collimation of 4MV photon and half-blocking of Co-60

SU-E-T-238: Deriving Electron Contamination Spectra From Pure and Clinical Photon Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smit, C; Plessis, F du

2015-01-01

Purpose: To extract the electron contamination energy spectra for an Elekta Precise Linac, based on pure photon and measured clinical beam percentage depth dose data. And to include this as an additional source in isource 4 in DOSXYZnrc. Methods: A pure photon beam was simulated for the Linac using isource 4 in the DOSXYZnrc Monte Carlo (MC) code. Percentage depth dose (PDD) data were extracted afterwards for a range of field sizes (FS). These simulated dose data were compared to actual measured dose PDD data, with the data normalized at 10 cm depth. The resulting PDD data resembled the electron contamination depth dose. Since the dose fall-off is a strictly decreasing function, a method was adopted to derive the contamination electron spectrum. Afterwards this spectrum was used in a DOSXYZnrc MC simulation run to verify that the original electron depth dose could be replicated. Results: Various square aperture FS’s for 6, 8 and 15 megavolt (MV) photon beams were modeled, simulated and compared to their respective actual measured PDD data. As FS increased, simulated pure photon depth-dose profiles shifted deeper, thus requiring electron contamination to increase the surface dose. The percentage of electron weight increased with increase in FS. For a FS of 15×15 cm 2 , the percentage electron weight is 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.4% for 6, 8 and 15 MV beams respectively. Conclusion: From the PDD results obtained, an additional electron contamination source was added to the photon source model so that simulation and measured PDD data could match within 2 % / 2 mm gamma-index criteria. The improved source model could assure more accurate simulations of surface doses. This research project was funded by the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) with funds from National Treasury under its Economic Competitiveness and Support package

SU-E-T-238: Deriving Electron Contamination Spectra From Pure and Clinical Photon Beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smit, C; Plessis, F du [University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, Free State (South Africa)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To extract the electron contamination energy spectra for an Elekta Precise Linac, based on pure photon and measured clinical beam percentage depth dose data. And to include this as an additional source in isource 4 in DOSXYZnrc. Methods: A pure photon beam was simulated for the Linac using isource 4 in the DOSXYZnrc Monte Carlo (MC) code. Percentage depth dose (PDD) data were extracted afterwards for a range of field sizes (FS). These simulated dose data were compared to actual measured dose PDD data, with the data normalized at 10 cm depth. The resulting PDD data resembled the electron contamination depth dose. Since the dose fall-off is a strictly decreasing function, a method was adopted to derive the contamination electron spectrum. Afterwards this spectrum was used in a DOSXYZnrc MC simulation run to verify that the original electron depth dose could be replicated. Results: Various square aperture FS’s for 6, 8 and 15 megavolt (MV) photon beams were modeled, simulated and compared to their respective actual measured PDD data. As FS increased, simulated pure photon depth-dose profiles shifted deeper, thus requiring electron contamination to increase the surface dose. The percentage of electron weight increased with increase in FS. For a FS of 15×15 cm{sup 2}, the percentage electron weight is 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.4% for 6, 8 and 15 MV beams respectively. Conclusion: From the PDD results obtained, an additional electron contamination source was added to the photon source model so that simulation and measured PDD data could match within 2 % / 2 mm gamma-index criteria. The improved source model could assure more accurate simulations of surface doses. This research project was funded by the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) with funds from National Treasury under its Economic Competitiveness and Support package.

Cascaded two-photon spectroscopy of Yb atoms with a transportable effusive atomic beam apparatus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Minsoo; Yoon, Tai Hyun [Department of Physics, Korea University, Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-02-15

We present a transportable effusive atomic beam apparatus for cascaded two-photon spectroscopy of the dipole-forbidden transition (6s{sup 2} {sup 1}S{sub 0}{r_reversible} 6s7s {sup 1}S{sub 0}) of Yb atoms. An ohmic-heating effusive oven is designed to have a reservoir volume of 1.6 cm{sup 3} and a high degree of atomic beam collimation angle of 30 mrad. The new atomic beam apparatus allows us to detect the spontaneously cascaded two-photons from the 6s7s{sup 1}S{sub 0} state via the intercombination 6s6p{sup 3}P{sub 1} state with a high signal-to-noise ratio even at the temperature of 340 Degree-Sign C. This is made possible in our apparatus because of the enhanced atomic beam flux and superior detection solid angle.

Absolute calibration of photon-number-resolving detectors with an analog output using twin beams

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Peřina Jr., J.; Haderka, Ondřej; Allevi, A.; Bondani, M.

2014-01-01

Roč. 104, č. 4 (2014), "041113-1"-"041113-4" ISSN 0003-6951 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP205/12/0382 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : photon- number resolving detector * twin beams * photon fields Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 3.302, year: 2014

Highly integrated optical phased arrays: photonic integrated circuits for optical beam shaping and beam steering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heck Martijn J.R.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Technologies for efficient generation and fast scanning of narrow free-space laser beams find major applications in three-dimensional (3D imaging and mapping, like Lidar for remote sensing and navigation, and secure free-space optical communications. The ultimate goal for such a system is to reduce its size, weight, and power consumption, so that it can be mounted on, e.g. drones and autonomous cars. Moreover, beam scanning should ideally be done at video frame rates, something that is beyond the capabilities of current opto-mechanical systems. Photonic integrated circuit (PIC technology holds the promise of achieving low-cost, compact, robust and energy-efficient complex optical systems. PICs integrate, for example, lasers, modulators, detectors, and filters on a single piece of semiconductor, typically silicon or indium phosphide, much like electronic integrated circuits. This technology is maturing fast, driven by high-bandwidth communications applications, and mature fabrication facilities. State-of-the-art commercial PICs integrate hundreds of elements, and the integration of thousands of elements has been shown in the laboratory. Over the last few years, there has been a considerable research effort to integrate beam steering systems on a PIC, and various beam steering demonstrators based on optical phased arrays have been realized. Arrays of up to thousands of coherent emitters, including their phase and amplitude control, have been integrated, and various applications have been explored. In this review paper, I will present an overview of the state of the art of this technology and its opportunities, illustrated by recent breakthroughs.

Highly integrated optical phased arrays: photonic integrated circuits for optical beam shaping and beam steering

Science.gov (United States)

Heck, Martijn J. R.

2017-01-01

Technologies for efficient generation and fast scanning of narrow free-space laser beams find major applications in three-dimensional (3D) imaging and mapping, like Lidar for remote sensing and navigation, and secure free-space optical communications. The ultimate goal for such a system is to reduce its size, weight, and power consumption, so that it can be mounted on, e.g. drones and autonomous cars. Moreover, beam scanning should ideally be done at video frame rates, something that is beyond the capabilities of current opto-mechanical systems. Photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology holds the promise of achieving low-cost, compact, robust and energy-efficient complex optical systems. PICs integrate, for example, lasers, modulators, detectors, and filters on a single piece of semiconductor, typically silicon or indium phosphide, much like electronic integrated circuits. This technology is maturing fast, driven by high-bandwidth communications applications, and mature fabrication facilities. State-of-the-art commercial PICs integrate hundreds of elements, and the integration of thousands of elements has been shown in the laboratory. Over the last few years, there has been a considerable research effort to integrate beam steering systems on a PIC, and various beam steering demonstrators based on optical phased arrays have been realized. Arrays of up to thousands of coherent emitters, including their phase and amplitude control, have been integrated, and various applications have been explored. In this review paper, I will present an overview of the state of the art of this technology and its opportunities, illustrated by recent breakthroughs.

Clinical application of intensity and energy modulated radiotherapy with photon and electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiangkui Mu

2005-01-01

In modern, advanced radiotherapy (e.g. intensity modulated photon radiotherapy, IMXT) the delivery time for each fraction becomes prolonged to 10-20 minutes compared with the conventional, commonly 2-5 minutes. The biological effect of this prolongation is not fully known. The large number of beam directions in IMXT commonly leads to a large integral dose in the patient. Electrons would reduce the integral dose but are not suitable for treating deep-seated tumour, due to their limited penetration in tissues. By combining electron and photon beams, the dose distributions may be improved compared with either used alone. One obstacle for using electron beams in clinical routine is that there is no available treatment planning systems that optimise electron beam treatments in a similar way as for IMXT. Protons have an even more pronounced dose fall-off, larger penetration depth and less penumbra widening than electrons and are therefore more suitable for advanced radiotherapy. However, proton facilities optimised for advanced radiotherapy are not commonly available. In some instances electron beams may be an acceptable surrogate. The first part of this study is an experimental in vitro study where the situation in a tumour during fractionated radiotherapy is simulated. The effect of the prolonged fraction time is compared with the predictions by radiobiological models. The second part is a treatment planning study to analyse the mixing of electron and photon beams for at complex target volume in comparison with IMXT. In the next step a research version of an electron beam optimiser was used for the improvement of treatment plans. The aim was to develop a method for translating crude energy and intensity matrices for optimised electrons into a deliverable treatment plan without destroying the dose distribution. In the final part, different methods of treating the spinal canal in medulloblastoma were explored in a treatment planning study that was evaluated with

Dosimetric properties of a Solid Water High Equivalency (SW557) phantom for megavoltage photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Araki, Fujio

2017-07-01

The dosimetric properties of the recently developed SW557 phantom have been investigated by comparison with those of the existing SW457 phantom in megavoltage photon beams. The electron fluence ratio φ pl w , and chamber ionization ratio k pl , of water to SW457 and water to SW557 for 4-15MV photons were calculated as a function of depth using Monte Carlo simulations, and compared with measured values. Values of φ pl w for SW457 were in the range of 1.004-1.014 for 4MV, and 1.014-1.018 for 15MV photons. The φ pl w for SW557 ranged from 1.005 to 1.008 for 4MV and from 1.010 to 1.015 for 15MV photons and the variation of φ pl w with depth for each beam energy was within ±0.5%. Values of k pl were obtained with a PTW 30013 Farmer-type ionization chamber. The k pl for SW457 ranged from 0.997 to 1.011 for 4-15MV photons. Values of k pl for SW557 were almost unity for 4 and 6MV photons, while in the case of 10 and 15MV photons they were less than 1.006, excepting the build-up region. The measured and calculated k pl values of water to SW557 were in the range of 0.997-1.002 and 1.000-1.006, respectively, for 4-15MV photons, at a depth of 10cm with a source-to-axis distance of 100cm. The measured and calculated k pl values were in agreement within their uncertainty ranges. As a water-equivalent phantom, SW557 can be used with a dosimetric difference within±0.6%, for 4-15MV photons, and is more water-equivalent than SW457 in megavoltage photon beams. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of beam deflector, splitters, wave plates and metalens using photonic elements with dielectric metasurface

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qing; Li, Maozhong; Liao, Tingdi; Cui, Xudong

2018-03-01

Under the trend of miniaturization and reduction of system complexity, conventional bulky photonic elements are expected to be replaced by new compact and ultrathin dielectric metasurface elements. In this letter, we propose an αTiO2 dielectric metasurface (DM) platform that could be exploited to design high efficiency wave-front control devices at visible wavelength. Combining with fundamental principles and full wave simulations (Lumerical FDTD 3D solver ®), we successfully realize four DM devices, such as anomalous beam deflectors, polarization insensitive metalens, wave plates and polarization beam splitters. All these devices can achieve high transmission efficiencies (larger than 80%). Among them, the anomalous refraction beam deflectors can bend light propagation to any desired directions; the polarization insensitive metalens maintains diffraction limited focus (focal spot as small as 0.67 λ); the quarter-wave and half-wave plates have broadband working wavelengths from 550 to 1000 nm; and the polarization beam splitter can split an arbitrarily polarized incident beam into two orthogonally polarized beams, the TM components is deflected to the right side, and the TE components is deflected to the left side. These devices may find applications in the areas of imaging, polarization control, spectroscopy, and on-chip optoelectronic systems etc., and our studies may richen the design of all-dielectric optical elements at visible wavelength.

Dosimetric comparison between proton and photon beams in the moving gap region in cranio-spinal irradiation (CSI)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Chee-Wai; Das, Indra J.; Zhao, Li; Wolanski, Mark; Johnstone, Peter A.S.; Buchsbaum, Jeffrey C. [IU Health Proton Therapy Center, Bloomington (United States); Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Indiana Univ. School of Medicine, Indianapolis (United States)], e-mail: ccheng1@iuhealth.org; Srivastava, Shiv P. [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Indiana Univ. School of Medicine, Indianapolis (United States); Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Reid Hospital, Richmond (United States); Simmons, Joseph [IU Health Proton Therapy Center, Bloomington (United States)

2013-04-15

Purpose: To investigate the moving gap region dosimetry in proton beam cranio-spinal irradiation (CSI) to provide optimal dose uniformity across the treatment volume. Material and methods: Proton beams of ranges 11.6 cm and 16 cm are used for the spine and the brain fields, respectively. Beam profiles for a 30 cm snout are first matched at the 50% level (hot match) on the computer. Feathering is simulated by shifting the dose profiles by a known distance two successive times to simulate a 2 x feathering scheme. The process is repeated for 2 mm and 4 mm gaps. Similar procedures are used to determine the dose profiles in the moving gap for a series of gap widths, 0-10 mm, and feathering step sizes, 4-10 mm, for a Varian iX 6MV beam. The proton and photon dose profiles in the moving gap region are compared. Results: The dose profiles in the moving gap exhibit valleys and peaks in both proton and photon beam CSI. The dose in the moving gap for protons is around 100% or higher for 0 mm gap, for both 5 and 10 mm feathering step sizes. When the field gap is comparable or larger than the penumbra, dose minima as low as 66% is obtained. The dosimetric characteristics for 6 MV photon beams can be made similar to those of the protons by appropriately combining gap width and feathering step size. Conclusion: The dose in the moving gap region is determined by the lateral penumbras, the width of the gap and the feathering step size. The dose decreases with increasing gap width or decreasing feathering step size. The dosimetric characteristics are similar for photon and proton beams. However, proton CSI has virtually no exit dose and is beneficial for pediatric patients, whereas with photon beams the whole lung and abdomen receive non-negligible exit dose.

Silicon-based photonic crystals fabricated using proton beam writing combined with electrochemical etching method.

Science.gov (United States)

Dang, Zhiya; Breese, Mark Bh; Recio-Sánchez, Gonzalo; Azimi, Sara; Song, Jiao; Liang, Haidong; Banas, Agnieszka; Torres-Costa, Vicente; Martín-Palma, Raúl José

2012-07-23

A method for fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) silicon nanostructures based on selective formation of porous silicon using ion beam irradiation of bulk p-type silicon followed by electrochemical etching is shown. It opens a route towards the fabrication of two-dimensional (2D) and 3D silicon-based photonic crystals with high flexibility and industrial compatibility. In this work, we present the fabrication of 2D photonic lattice and photonic slab structures and propose a process for the fabrication of 3D woodpile photonic crystals based on this approach. Simulated results of photonic band structures for the fabricated 2D photonic crystals show the presence of TE or TM gap in mid-infrared range.

Polarization Beam Splitter Based on a Self-Collimation Michelson Interferometer in a Silicon Photonic Crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xi-Yao; Lin Gui-Min; Li Jun-Jun; Xu Xiao-Fu; Jiang Jun-Zhen; Qiang Ze-Xuan; Qiu Yi-Shen; Li Hui

2012-01-01

A polarization beam splitter based on a self-collimation Michelson interferometer (SMI) in a hole-type silicon photonic crystal is proposed and numerically demonstrated. Utilizing the polarization dependence of the transmission spectra of the SMI and polarization peak matching method, the SMI can work as a polarization beam splitter (PBS) by selecting an appropriate path length difference in the structure. Based on its novel polarization beam splitting mechanics, the polarization extinction ratios (PERs) for TM and TE modes are as high as 18.4 dB and 24.3 dB, respectively. Since its dimensions are only several operating wavelengths, the PBS may have practical applications in photonic integrated circuits. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

Photon technology. Hard photon technology; Photon technology. Hard photon gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

For the application of photon to industrial technologies, in particular, a hard photon technology was surveyed which uses photon beams of 0.1-200nm in wavelength. Its features such as selective atom reaction, dense inner shell excitation and spacial high resolution by quantum energy are expected to provide innovative techniques for various field such as fine machining, material synthesis and advanced inspection technology. This wavelength region has been hardly utilized for industrial fields because of poor development of suitable photon sources and optical devices. The developmental meaning, usable time and issue of a hard photon reduction lithography were surveyed as lithography in ultra-fine region below 0.1{mu}m. On hard photon analysis/evaluation technology, the industrial use of analysis, measurement and evaluation technologies by micro-beam was viewed, and optimum photon sources and optical systems were surveyed. Prediction of surface and surface layer modification by inner shell excitation, the future trend of this process and development of a vacuum ultraviolet light source were also surveyed. 383 refs., 153 figs., 17 tabs.

Improving the neutron-to-photon discrimination capability of detectors used for neutron dosimetry in high energy photon beam radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irazola, L.; Terrón, J.A.; Bedogni, R; Pola, A.; Lorenzoli, M.; Sánchez-Nieto, B.; Gómez, F.; Sánchez-Doblado, F.

2016-01-01

The increasing interest of the medical community to radioinduced second malignancies due to photoneutrons in patients undergoing high-energy radiotherapy, has stimulated in recent years the study of peripheral doses, including the development of some dedicated active detectors. Although these devices are designed to respond to neutrons only, their parasitic photon response is usually not identically zero and anisotropic. The impact of these facts on measurement accuracy can be important, especially in points close to the photon field-edge. A simple method to estimate the photon contribution to detector readings is to cover it with a thermal neutron absorber with reduced secondary photon emission, such as a borated rubber. This technique was applied to the TNRD (Thermal Neutron Rate Detector), recently validated for thermal neutron measurements in high-energy photon radiotherapy. The positive results, together with the accessibility of the method, encourage its application to other detectors and different clinical scenarios. - Highlights: • Neutron-to-photon discrimination of a thermal neutron detector used in radiotherapy. • Photon and anisotropic response study with distance and beam incidence of thermal neutron detector. • Borated rubber for estimating photon contribution in any thermal neutron detector.

A New Approach with Combined Stereotactic Trans-multiarc Beams for Radiosurgery Based on the Linear Accelerator : Photon Knife

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Tae Jin; Kim, Jin Hee; Kim, Ok Bae

1996-01-01

Purpose : To get an acute steepness of dose gradients at outside the target volume in intracranial lesion and a less limitation of beam selection avoiding the high dose at normal brain tissue, this Photon Knife Radiosurgery System was developed in order to provide the three-dimensional dose distribution through the reconstruction of CT scan and the combined stereotactic tranmultiarc beam mode based on linear accelerator photon beam. Methods and Materials : This stereotactic radiosurgery, Photon Knife based on linear accelerator photon beam was provided the non-coplanar multiarc and trans-multiarc irradiations. The stereotactic trans-multiarc beam mode can be obtained from the patient position in decubitus. This study has provided the 3-dimensional isodose curve and anatomical structures with the surface rendering technique. Results : In this study, it shows that the dose distributions of stereotactic beam mode are significantly depended on the selected couch and gantry angle in same collimator size. Practical dose distribution of combined stereotactic trans-multiarc beam has shown a more small rim thickness than that of the non-coplanar multiarc beam mode in axial, sagittal and coronal plane in our study. 3-Dimensional dose line displayed with surface rendering of irregular target shape is helpful to determine the target dose and to predict the prognosis in follow-up radiosurgery. Conclusion : 3-Dimensional dose line displayed with surface rendering of irregular target shape is essential in stereotactic radiosurgery. This combined stereotactic trans-multiarc beam has shown a less limitation of the selection couch and gantry beam angles for the target surrounding critical organs. It has shown that the dose distribution of combined trans-multiarc beam greatly depended on the couch and gantry angles. In our experiments. the absorbed dose has been decreased to 27 % /mm in maximum at the interval of 50% to 80% of isodose line

Reduction of metal artifacts: beam hardening and photon starvation effects

Science.gov (United States)

Yadava, Girijesh K.; Pal, Debashish; Hsieh, Jiang

2014-03-01

The presence of metal-artifacts in CT imaging can obscure relevant anatomy and interfere with disease diagnosis. The cause and occurrence of metal-artifacts are primarily due to beam hardening, scatter, partial volume and photon starvation; however, the contribution to the artifacts from each of them depends on the type of hardware. A comparison of CT images obtained with different metallic hardware in various applications, along with acquisition and reconstruction parameters, helps understand methods for reducing or overcoming such artifacts. In this work, a metal beam hardening correction (BHC) and a projection-completion based metal artifact reduction (MAR) algorithms were developed, and applied on phantom and clinical CT scans with various metallic implants. Stainless-steel and Titanium were used to model and correct for metal beam hardening effect. In the MAR algorithm, the corrupted projection samples are replaced by the combination of original projections and in-painted data obtained by forward projecting a prior image. The data included spine fixation screws, hip-implants, dental-filling, and body extremity fixations, covering range of clinically used metal implants. Comparison of BHC and MAR on different metallic implants was used to characterize dominant source of the artifacts, and conceivable methods to overcome those. Results of the study indicate that beam hardening could be a dominant source of artifact in many spine and extremity fixations, whereas dental and hip implants could be dominant source of photon starvation. The BHC algorithm could significantly improve image quality in CT scans with metallic screws, whereas MAR algorithm could alleviate artifacts in hip-implants and dentalfillings.

Effect of Photon Beam Energy, Gold Nanoparticle Size and Concentration on the Dose Enhancement in Radiation Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nahideh Gharehaghaji

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Gold nanoparticles have been used as radiation dose enhancing materials in recent investigations. In the current study, dose enhancement effect of gold nanoparticles on tumor cells was evaluated using Monte Carlo (MC simulation. Methods: We used MCNPX code for MC modeling in the current study. A water phantom and a tumor region with a size of 1×1×1 cm3 loaded with gold nanoparticles were simulated. The macroscopic dose enhancement factor was calculated for gold nanoparticles with sizes of 30, 50, and 100 nm. Also, we simulated different photon beams including mono-energetic beams (50-120 keV, a Cobalt-60 beam, 6 & 18 MV photon beams of a conventional linear accelerator. Results: We found a dose enhancement factor (DEF of from 1.4 to 3.7 for monoenergetic kilovoltage beams, while the DEFs for megavoltage beams were negligible and less than 3% for all GNP sizes and concentrations. The optimum energy for higher DEF was found to be the 90 keV monoenergetic beam. The effect of GNP size was not considerable, but the GNP concentration had a substantial impact on achieved DEF in GNP-based radiation therapy. Conclusion: The results were in close agreement with some previous studies considering the effect of photon energy and GNP concentration on observed DEF. Application of GNP-based radiation therapy using kilovoltage beams is recommended.

Magnetic fields with photon beams: Use of circular current loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jette, David

2001-01-01

Strong transverse magnetic fields can produce very large dose enhancements and reductions in localized regions of a patient under irradiation by a photon beam. Through EGS4 Monte Carlo simulations, we have examined the effects of applying a magnetic field produced by a pair of circular current loops to a photon beam penetrating a water phantom of finite thickness. We have indeed found very substantial localized dose enhancements, albeit with no corresponding dose reduction just distal to the region of dose enhancement. (However, dose reduction does occur near the distal end of the phantom.) We have also observed two phenomena to be concerned with, for this configuration: significant broadening of the penumbra close to the current loop, and narrowness of the enhanced dose region in a plane parallel to the planes of the loops. We have also examined the use of a single current loop to produce the magnetic field, and have found great asymmetry in the dose distribution; this asymmetry appears to make it impossible to treat with a single circular magnet a tumor of large dimension extending below the application surface

Initial time-resolved particle beam profile measurements at the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, B.X.; Lumpkin, A.H.

1995-01-01

The commissioning of the 7-GeV Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring began in early 1995. Characterization of the stored particle beam properties involved time-resolved transverse and longitudinal profile measurements using optical synchrotron radiation (OSR) monitors. Early results include the observation of the beam on a single turn, measurements of the transverse beam sizes after damping using a 100 μs integration time (σ x ∼ 150 ± 25 μm, σ γ ∼ 65 ± 25 μm, depending on vertical coupling), and measurement of the bunch length (σ τ ∼ 25 to 55 ps, depending on the charge per bunch). The results are consistent with specifications and predictions based on the 8.2 nm-rad natural emittance, the calculated lattice parameters, and vertical coupling less than 10%. The novel, single-element focusing mirror for the photon transport line and the dual-sweep streak camera techniques which allow turn-by-turn measurements will also be presented. The latter measurements are believed to be the first of their kind on a storage ring in the USA

Implementation status of the global and local beam position feedback systems for the Advanced Photon Source storage ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.; Barr, D.; Decker, G.; Galayda, J.; Kirchman, J.; Lenkszus, F.; Lumpkin, A.; Votaw, A.J.

1995-01-01

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) is implementing an extensive beam position feedback system for both global and local stabilization of particle and photon beams based on digital signal processing. The description and operational experience of the system will be given in this paper. In particular, we will discuss the underlying fundamental principles, hardware layout, controls interface, and automatic software generation for multiple digital signal processors (DSPS) distributed in 20 VME crates around the ring. The feedback system runs at 4-kHz sampling frequency in order to achieve the correction bandwidth of approximately 100 Hz. For the maximum correction efficiency and resolution of conflicts among multiple local feedback systems due to the local bump closure error, the global and local feedback systems are combined into a single unified system. This novel approach is made possible through data sharing among the global and local systems via the fiber-optically networked reflective memories

Monte Carlo simulation of spectrum changes in a photon beam due to a brass compensator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Custidiano, E.R.; Valenzuela, M.R.; Dumont, J.L.; McDonnell, J.; Rene, L; Rodriguez Aguirre, J.M.

2011-01-01

Monte Carlo simulations were used to study the changes in the incident spectrum when a poly-energetic photon beam passes through a static brass compensator. The simulated photon beam spectrum was evaluated by comparing it against the incident spectra. We also discriminated the changes in the transmitted spectrum produced by each of the microscopic processes. (i.e. Rayleigh scattering, photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, and pair production). The results show that the relevant process in the energy range considered is the Compton Effect, as expected for composite materials of intermediate atomic number and energy range considered.

Monte Carlo simulation of spectrum changes in a photon beam due to a brass compensator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Custidiano, E.R., E-mail: ernesto7661@gmail.com [Department of Physics, FaCENA, UNNE, Av., Libertad 5470, C.P.3400, Corrientes (Argentina); Valenzuela, M.R., E-mail: meraqval@gmail.com [Department of Physics, FaCENA, UNNE, Av., Libertad 5470, C.P.3400, Corrientes (Argentina); Dumont, J.L., E-mail: Joseluis.Dumont@elekta.com [Elekta CMS Software, St.Louis, MO (United States); McDonnell, J., E-mail: josemc@express.com.ar [Cumbres Institute, Riobamba 1745, C.P.2000, Rosario, Santa Fe (Argentina); Rene, L, E-mail: luismrene@gmail.com [Radiotherapy Center, Crespo 953, C.P.2000, Rosario, Santa Fe (Argentina); Rodriguez Aguirre, J.M., E-mail: juakcho@gmail.com [Department of Physics, FaCENA, UNNE, Av., Libertad 5470, C.P.3400, Corrientes (Argentina)

2011-06-15

Monte Carlo simulations were used to study the changes in the incident spectrum when a poly-energetic photon beam passes through a static brass compensator. The simulated photon beam spectrum was evaluated by comparing it against the incident spectra. We also discriminated the changes in the transmitted spectrum produced by each of the microscopic processes. (i.e. Rayleigh scattering, photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, and pair production). The results show that the relevant process in the energy range considered is the Compton Effect, as expected for composite materials of intermediate atomic number and energy range considered.

Small photon beam measurements using radiochromic film and Monte Carlo simulations in a water phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Garduno, Olivia A.; Larraga-Gutierrez, Jose M.; Rodriguez-Villafuerte, Mercedes; Martinez-Davalos, Arnulfo; Celis, Miguel A.

2010-01-01

This work reports the use of both GafChromic EBT film immersed in a water phantom and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations for small photon beam stereotactic radiosurgery dosimetry. Circularly collimated photon beams with diameters in the 4-20 mm range of a dedicated 6 MV linear accelerator (Novalis (registered) , BrainLAB, Germany) were used to perform off-axis ratios, tissue maximum ratios and total scatter factors measurements, and MC simulations. GafChromic EBT film data show an excellent agreement with MC results (<2.7%) for all measured quantities.

A Monte Carlo multiple source model applied to radiosurgery narrow photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaves, A.; Lopes, M.C.; Alves, C.C.; Oliveira, C.; Peralta, L.; Rodrigues, P.; Trindade, A.

2004-01-01

Monte Carlo (MC) methods are nowadays often used in the field of radiotherapy. Through successive steps, radiation fields are simulated, producing source Phase Space Data (PSD) that enable a dose calculation with good accuracy. Narrow photon beams used in radiosurgery can also be simulated by MC codes. However, the poor efficiency in simulating these narrow photon beams produces PSD whose quality prevents calculating dose with the required accuracy. To overcome this difficulty, a multiple source model was developed that enhances the quality of the reconstructed PSD, reducing also the time and storage capacities. This multiple source model was based on the full MC simulation, performed with the MC code MCNP4C, of the Siemens Mevatron KD2 (6 MV mode) linear accelerator head and additional collimators. The full simulation allowed the characterization of the particles coming from the accelerator head and from the additional collimators that shape the narrow photon beams used in radiosurgery treatments. Eight relevant photon virtual sources were identified from the full characterization analysis. Spatial and energy distributions were stored in histograms for the virtual sources representing the accelerator head components and the additional collimators. The photon directions were calculated for virtual sources representing the accelerator head components whereas, for the virtual sources representing the additional collimators, they were recorded into histograms. All these histograms were included in the MC code, DPM code and using a sampling procedure that reconstructed the PSDs, dose distributions were calculated in a water phantom divided in 20000 voxels of 1x1x5 mm 3 . The model accurately calculates dose distributions in the water phantom for all the additional collimators; for depth dose curves, associated errors at 2σ were lower than 2.5% until a depth of 202.5 mm for all the additional collimators and for profiles at various depths, deviations between measured

Which accelerator photon beams are 'clinic-like' for reference dosimetry purposes?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalach, N.I.; Rogers, D.W.O.

2003-01-01

Previous work has demonstrated that, for photon beam dosimetry, TPR 10 20 is not an ideal beam quality specifier for all bremsstrahlung beams, especially for lightly filtered beams in some standards laboratories. This paper addresses the following questions: Is TPR 10 20 an adequate beam quality specifier for all modern clinical therapy accelerators? When can nonclinical beams in standards laboratories be used to calibrate ion chambers or measure k Q factors as a function of TPR 10 20 ? Based on detailed Monte Carlo simulations of Varian, Siemens, Elekta, and GE (Saturn) accelerators one can conclude that TPR 10 20 is an adequate beam quality specifier for all these machines in the sense that for a given value of TPR 10 20 , the value of stopping-power ratios is the same. Agreement between calculations for specific accelerators and measured beam quality specifiers is shown to be good, but agreement with published data for a variety of clinical accelerators is not as good. Possible reasons for the discrepancy are discussed

Beam shaping of light sources using circular photonic crystal funnel

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Mrityunjay; Kumar, Mithun; Dinesh Kumar, V.

2012-10-01

A novel two-dimensional circular photonic crystal (CPC) structure with a sectorial opening for shaping the beam of light sources was designed and investigated. When combined with light sources, the structure acts like an antenna emitting a directional beam which could be advantageously used in several nanophotonic applications. Using the two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (2D FDTD) method, we examined the effects of geometrical parameters of the structure on the directional and transmission properties of emitted radiation. Further, we examined the transmitting and receiving properties of a pair of identical structures as a function of distance between them.

Propagation of photons induced by a proton beam in a quartz bar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plaszczynski, S.; Torassa, E.; Wormser, G.; Aleksan, R.; Amadon, A.; Besson, P.; Bourgeois, P.; Monchenault, G.H.; Jarry, P.; Lemaire, M.C.; Lemeur, J.; London, G.; Robert, J.P.

1996-01-01

For the BABAR experiment, an amplitude and timing analysis of photons produced by a proton beam in a quartz bar has been performed. The photoelectron yield is obtained for different angles and positions. It is found that the linear speed of propagation of the Cherenkov photons through the bar is well described y internal reflections. The timing analysis reveals also the existence of an unexpected parasite light component, not described by the simulation. However, all the results can be reproduced by adding an isotropic scintillation of about 4 photons/cm in the quartz bar on the trajectory of the primary proton, in 50 % of the cases. (author)

Monte Carlo simulation of Varian Linac for 6 MV photon beam with BEAMnrc code

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammed, Maged; El Bardouni, T.; Chakir, E.; Boukhal, H.; Saeed, M.; Ahmed, Abdul-Aziz

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the initial electron beam parameters on the absorbed dose distribution calculated with EGSnrc Monte Carlo code, for 6 MV photon beam. A proposed methodology for benchmarking the BEAMnrc model of Varian Linac has been used. Also, a new photon cross section data based on ENDF/B-VII release 8 evaluation has been employed. The parameters tested include mean energy, radial intensity distribution and angular spread of the initial electron beam. Mean energy and angular spread were tested for a square irradiation field 10 × 10 cm2, whereas beam width of the electron beam was studied for 10 × 10 cm2 at different depths and 30 × 30 cm2 at depth of 10 cm. The results obtained are compared with measurement data to select the optimal electron beam parameters. The differences between MC calculation and measurements data are analyzed using gamma index criteria which fixed within 1% -1 mm accuracy. The obtained results indicated that the depth-dose and dose-profile curves were considerably influenced by the mean energy of the electron beam. The depth-dose curves were unaffected by the beam width of the electron beam, for both irradiation fields. On the contrary, lateral dose-profile curves were affected by the beam width of initial electron beam. Both dose-profile and depth-dose curves were unaffected to the angular spread of the electron beam. A deep depth of 10 × 10 cm2 is very accurate to tune the beam width. Mean energy and beam width must be tuned precisely, to get the MC does distribution with acceptable accuracy.

An MCNP-based model of a medical linear accelerator x-ray photon beam.

Science.gov (United States)

Ajaj, F A; Ghassal, N M

2003-09-01

The major components in the x-ray photon beam path of the treatment head of the VARIAN Clinac 2300 EX medical linear accelerator were modeled and simulated using the Monte Carlo N-Particle radiation transport computer code (MCNP). Simulated components include x-ray target, primary conical collimator, x-ray beam flattening filter and secondary collimators. X-ray photon energy spectra and angular distributions were calculated using the model. The x-ray beam emerging from the secondary collimators were scored by considering the total x-ray spectra from the target as the source of x-rays at the target position. The depth dose distribution and dose profiles at different depths and field sizes have been calculated at a nominal operating potential of 6 MV and found to be within acceptable limits. It is concluded that accurate specification of the component dimensions, composition and nominal accelerating potential gives a good assessment of the x-ray energy spectra.

Equivalent (uniform) square field sizes of flattening filter free photon beams

Science.gov (United States)

Lechner, Wolfgang; Kuess, Peter; Georg, Dietmar; Palmans, Hugo

2017-10-01

Various types of treatment units, such as CyberKnife, TomoTherapy and C-arm linear accelerators (LINACs) are operated using flattening filter free (FFF) photon beams. Their reference dosimetry, however, is currently based on codes of practice that provide data which were primarily developed and tested for high-energy photon beams with flattening filter (WFF). The aim of this work was to introduce equivalent uniform square field sizes of FFF beams to serve as a basis of a unified reference dosimetry procedure applicable to all aforementioned FFF machines. For this purpose, in-house determined experimental data together with published data of the ratio of doses at depths of 20 cm and 10 cm in water (D 20,10) were used to characterize the depth dose distribution of 6 and 10 MV WFF and FFF beams. These data were analyzed for field sizes ranging from 2  ×  2 cm2 to 40  ×  40 cm2. A scatter function that takes the lateral profiles of the individual beams into account was fitted to the experimental data. The lateral profiles of the WFF beams were assumed to be uniform, while those of the FFF beams were approximated using fourth or sixth order polynomials. The scatter functions of the FFF beams were recalculated using a uniform lateral profile (the same as the physical profile of the WFF beams), and are henceforth denoted as virtual uniform FFF beams (VUFFF). The field sizes of the VUFFF beams having the same scatter contribution as the corresponding FFF beams at a given field size were defined as the equivalent uniform square field (EQUSF) size. Data from four different LINACs with 18 different beams in total, as well as a CyberKnife beam, were analyzed. The average values of EQUSFs over all investigated LINACs of the conventional 10  ×  10 cm2 reference fields of 6 MV and 10 MV FFF beams for C-arm LINACs and machine-specific reference fields for CyberKnife and TomoTherapy were 9.5 cm, 9 cm, 5.0 cm and 6.5 cm respectively. The

Two-photon physics and online beam monitoring using the DELPHI detector at LEP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjarne, J.

1994-01-01

This thesis is based on work done during 1989-1993 using the DELPHI detector at LEP, which is summarized in five articles. It consists of three main parts. The first part describes the Very Small Angle Tagger (VSAT), which is a sub-detector of the DELPHI detector at LEP. It consists of four silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter modules having a silicon strip planes for position determination. The modules are placed adjacent to the beam pipe, at ±7.7 m from the interaction point and after superconducting quadrupole magnets, allowing the detection of electrons in a polar angle range of 4 to 13 mrad. The second part is devoted to two-photon physics at DELPHI, with strong emphasis on a VSAT single-tagged event analysis. Here is shown, for the first time, evidence of hard scattering processes in single-tagged two-photon collisions. A QCD Resolved Photon Contribution (QCD-RPC) model is introduced. Data is then seen to be well described by a full VDM+(QCD-RPC) model. Different parton density functions are compared with data. The third part first describes the system for online monitoring of LEP beam background and luminosity at the DELPHI interaction point. Details are given of contributing sub-detector signals and program structure. Then follows a description of the VSAT online monitoring program (VSAT-MONITOR). A good agreement is found between the VSAT-MONITOR estimates of luminosity and beam spot and those of other detectors. Finally, results are presented of VSAT measurements of a LEP beam separation scan. 75 refs, figs

Influence of the Integral Quality Monitor transmission detector on high energy photon beams: A multi-centre study.

Science.gov (United States)

Casar, Bozidar; Pasler, Marlies; Wegener, Sonja; Hoffman, David; Talamonti, Cinzia; Qian, Jianguo; Mendez, Ignasi; Brojan, Denis; Perrin, Bruce; Kusters, Martijn; Canters, Richard; Pallotta, Stefania; Peterlin, Primoz

2017-09-01

The influence of the Integral Quality Monitor (IQM) transmission detector on photon beam properties was evaluated in a preclinical phase, using data from nine participating centres: (i) the change of beam quality (beam hardening), (ii) the influence on surface dose, and (iii) the attenuation of the IQM detector. For 6 different nominal photon energies (4 standard, 2 FFF) and square field sizes from 1×1cm 2 to 20×20cm 2 , the effect of IQM on beam quality was assessed from the PDD 20,10 values obtained from the percentage dose depth (PDD) curves, measured with and without IQM in the beam path. The change in surface dose with/without IQM was assessed for all available energies and field sizes from 4×4cm 2 to 20×20cm 2 . The transmission factor was calculated by means of measured absorbed dose at 10cm depth for all available energies and field sizes. (i) A small (0.11-0.53%) yet statistically significant beam hardening effect was observed, depending on photon beam energy. (ii) The increase in surface dose correlated with field size (pphoton energies except for 18MV. The change in surface dose was smaller than 3.3% in all cases except for the 20×20cm 2 field and 10MV FFF beam, where it reached 8.1%. (iii) For standard beams, transmission of the IQM showed a weak dependence on the field size, and a pronounced dependence on the beam energy (0.9412 for 6MV to 0.9578 for 18MV and 0.9440 for 6MV FFF; 0.9533 for 10MV FFF). The effects of the IQM detector on photon beam properties were found to be small yet statistically significant. The magnitudes of changes which were found justify treating IQM either as tray factors within the treatment planning system (TPS) for a particular energy or alternatively as modified outputs for specific beam energy of linear accelerators, which eases the introduction of the IQM into clinical practice. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

The validity of the density scaling method in primary electron transport for photon and electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woo, M.K.; Cunningham, J.R.

1990-01-01

In the convolution/superposition method of photon beam dose calculations, inhomogeneities are usually handled by using some form of scaling involving the relative electron densities of the inhomogeneities. In this paper the accuracy of density scaling as applied to primary electrons generated in photon interactions is examined. Monte Carlo calculations are compared with density scaling calculations for air and cork slab inhomogeneities. For individual primary photon kernels as well as for photon interactions restricted to a thin layer, the results can differ significantly, by up to 50%, between the two calculations. However, for realistic photon beams where interactions occur throughout the whole irradiated volume, the discrepancies are much less severe. The discrepancies for the kernel calculation are attributed to the scattering characteristics of the electrons and the consequent oversimplified modeling used in the density scaling method. A technique called the kernel integration technique is developed to analyze the general effects of air and cork inhomogeneities. It is shown that the discrepancies become significant only under rather extreme conditions, such as immediately beyond the surface after a large air gap. In electron beams all the primary electrons originate from the surface of the phantom and the errors caused by simple density scaling can be much more significant. Various aspects relating to the accuracy of density scaling for air and cork slab inhomogeneities are discussed

Photon generator

Science.gov (United States)

Srinivasan-Rao, Triveni

2002-01-01

A photon generator includes an electron gun for emitting an electron beam, a laser for emitting a laser beam, and an interaction ring wherein the laser beam repetitively collides with the electron beam for emitting a high energy photon beam therefrom in the exemplary form of x-rays. The interaction ring is a closed loop, sized and configured for circulating the electron beam with a period substantially equal to the period of the laser beam pulses for effecting repetitive collisions.

SU-E-T-554: Comparison of Electron Disequilibrium Factor in External Photon Beams for Different Models of Linear Accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LIU, B; Zhu, T

2014-01-01

Purpose: The dose in the buildup region of a photon beam is usually determined by the transport of the primary secondary electrons and the contaminating electrons from accelerator head. This can be quantified by the electron disequilibrium factor, E, defined as the ratio between total dose and equilibrium dose (proportional to total kerma), E = 1 in regions beyond buildup region. Ecan be different among accelerators of different models and/or manufactures of the same machine. This study compares E in photon beams from different machine models/ Methods: Photon beam data such as fractional depth dose curve (FDD) and phantom scatter factors as a function of field size and phantom depth were measured for different Linac machines. E was extrapolated from these fractional depth dose data while taking into account inverse-square law. The ranges of secondary electron were chosen as 3 and 6 cm for 6 and 15 MV photon beams, respectively. The field sizes range from 2x2 to 40x40 cm 2 . Results: The comparison indicates the standard deviations of electron contamination among different machines are about 2.4 - 3.3% at 5 mm depth for 6 MV and 1.2 - 3.9% at 1 cm depth for 15 MV for the same field size. The corresponding maximum deviations are 3.0 - 4.6% and 2 - 4% for 6 and 15 MV, respectively. Both standard and maximum deviations are independent of field sizes in the buildup region for 6 MV photons, and slightly decreasing with increasing field size at depths up to 1 cm for 15 MV photons. Conclusion: The deviations of electron disequilibrium factor for all studied Linacs are less than 3% beyond the depth of 0.5 cm for the photon beams for the full range of field sizes (2-40 cm) so long as they are from the same manufacturer

Electron beam collimation with a photon MLC for standard electron treatments

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, S.; Fix, M. K.; Henzen, D.; Frei, D.; Frauchiger, D.; Loessl, K.; Stampanoni, M. F. M.; Manser, P.

2018-01-01

Standard electron treatments are currently still performed using standard or molded patient-specific cut-outs placed in the electron applicator. Replacing cut-outs and electron applicators with a photon multileaf collimator (pMLC) for electron beam collimation would make standard electron treatments more efficient and would facilitate advanced treatment techniques like modulated electron radiotherapy (MERT) and mixed beam radiotherapy (MBRT). In this work, a multiple source Monte Carlo beam model for pMLC shaped electron beams commissioned at a source-to-surface distance (SSD) of 70 cm is extended for SSDs of up to 100 cm and validated for several Varian treatment units with field sizes typically used for standard electron treatments. Measurements and dose calculations agree generally within 3% of the maximal dose or 2 mm distance to agreement. To evaluate the dosimetric consequences of using pMLC collimated electron beams for standard electron treatments, pMLC-based and cut-out-based treatment plans are created for a left and a right breast boost, a sternum, a testis and a parotid gland case. The treatment plans consist of a single electron field, either alone (1E) or in combination with two 3D conformal tangential photon fields (1E2X). For each case, a pMLC plan with similar treatment plan quality in terms of dose homogeneity to the target and absolute mean dose values to the organs at risk (OARs) compared to a cut-out plan is found. The absolute mean dose to an OAR is slightly increased for pMLC-based compared to cut-out-based 1E plans if the OAR is located laterally close to the target with respect to beam direction, or if a 6 MeV electron beam is used at an extended SSD. In conclusion, treatment plans using cut-out collimation can be replaced by plans of similar treatment plan quality using pMLC collimation with accurately calculated dose distributions.

Determination of the quality index (Q) for photon beams at arbitrary field sizes.

Science.gov (United States)

Sauer, Otto A

2009-09-01

A commonly used beam quality index (Q) for high-energy photon beams is the tissue phantom ratio (TPR20,10) for a square field of 10 x 10 cm2 and SDD of 100 cm. On some specialized radiotherapy treatment equipment such a reference collimator setting is not achievable. Likewise a flat beam profile, not explicitly required in dosimetry protocols, but certainly influences the measurement of Q, is not always produced. In this work, a method was developed in order to determine Q at any field size, especially for small and nonflattened beams. An analytical relationship was derived between TPR20,10 for arbitrary field sizes and Q [the TPR20,10 (10 x 10 cm2)] as quality index. The proposed model equation was fitted to the measured and published data in order to achieve three general fit parameters. The procedure was then tested with published data from TomoTherapy and CyperKnife treatment devices. For standard flattened photon fields, the uncertainty in Q measured at any field size using the parameters derived from this study is better than 1%. In flattening-filter free beams, the proposed procedure results in a reliable Q for any field size setting. A method is introduced and successfully tested in order to measure the beam quality under nonstandard conditions. It can be used, e.g., to get energy dependent correction factors as tabulated in dosimetry codes of practice even if standard conditions are not adjustable.

Dosimetric properties of radiophotoluminescent glass detector in low-energy photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Kadoya, Noriyuki; Shimomura, Kouhei; Kitou, Satoshi; Shiota, Yasuo; Fujita, Yukio; Dobashi, Suguru; Takeda, Ken; Jingu, Keiichi; Matsushita, Haruo; Namito, Yoshihito; Ban, Syuichi; Koyama, Syuji; Tabushi, Katsuyoshi

2012-10-01

A radiophotoluminescent glass rod dosimeter (RGD) has recently become commercially available. It is being increasingly used for dosimetry in radiotherapy to measure the absorbed dose including scattered low-energy photons on the body surface of a patient and for postal dosimetry audit. In this article, the dosimetric properties of the RGD, including energy dependence of the dose response, reproducibly, variation in data obtained by the RGD for each energy, and angular dependence in low-energy photons, are discussed. An RGD (GD-301, Asahi Techno Glass Corporation, Shizuoka, Japan) was irradiated with monochromatic low-energy photon beams generated by synchrotron radiation at Photon Factory, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). The size of GD-301 was 1.5 mm in diameter and 8.5 mm in length and the active dose readout volume being 1 mm diameter and 0.6 mm depth located 0.7 mm from the end of the detector. The energy dependence of the dose response and reproducibility and variation were investigated for RGDs irradiated with a plastic holder and those irradiated without the plastic holder. Response of the RGD was obtained by not only conventional single field irradiation but also bilateral irradiation. Angular dependence of the RGD was measured in the range of 0°-90° for 13, 17, 40, and 80 keV photon beams by conventional single field irradiation. The dose responses had a peak at around 40 keV. For the energy range of less than 25 keV, all dose response curves steeply decreased in comparison with the ratio of mass energy absorption coefficient of the RGD to that of air. As for the reproducibility and variation in data obtained by the RGD, the coefficient of variance increased with decrease in photon energy. Furthermore, the variation for bilateral irradiation was less than that for single field irradiation. Regarding angular dependence of the RGD, for energies of 13 and 17 keV, the response decreased with increase in the irradiation angle, and the

Photon reconstruction in the ATLAS Inner Detector and Liquid Argon Barrel Calorimeter at the 2004 Combined Test Beam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abat, E; Arik, E [Bogazici University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Physics, TR-80815 Bebek-Istanbul (Turkey); Abdallah, J M [Institut de Fisica d' Altes Energies, IFAE, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Edifici Cn, ES-08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain); Addy, T N [Hampton University, Department of Physics, Hampton, VA 23668 (United States); Adragna, P [Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, E1 4NS, London (United Kingdom); Aharrouche, M [Universitaet Mainz, Institut fuer Physik, Staudinger Weg 7, DE-55099 (Germany); Ahmad, A [Insitute of Physics, Academia Sinica, TW-Taipei 11529, Taiwan (China); Akesson, T P A [Lunds universitet, Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten, Fysiska institutionen, Box 118, SE-221 00, Lund (Sweden); Aleksa, M; Anghinolfi, F; Baron, S [European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Alexa, C [National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (Bucharest -IFIN-HH), P.O. Box MG-6, R-077125 Bucharest (Romania); Anderson, K [University of Chicago, Enrico Fermi Institute, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Andreazza, A; Banfi, D [INFN Sezione di Milano, via Celoria 16, IT-20133 Milano (Italy); Antonaki, A; Arabidze, G [University of Athens, Nuclear and Particle Physics Department of Physics, Panepistimiopouli Zografou, GR 15771 Athens (Greece); Atkinson, T [School of Physics, University of Melbourne, AU-Parkvill, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Baines, J [Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX (United Kingdom); Baker, O K, E-mail: stathes.paganis@cern.ch [Yale University, Department of Physics, PO Box 208121, New Haven, CT06520-8121 (United States)

2011-04-01

The reconstruction of photons in the ATLAS detector is studied with data taken during the 2004 Combined Test Beam, where a full slice of the ATLAS detector was exposed to beams of particles of known energy at the CERN SPS. The results presented show significant differences in the longitudinal development of the electromagnetic shower between converted and unconverted photons as well as in the total measured energy. The potential to use the reconstructed converted photons as a means to precisely map the material of the tracker in front of the electromagnetic calorimeter is also considered. All results obtained are compared with a detailed Monte-Carlo simulation of the test-beam setup which is based on the same simulation and reconstruction tools as those used for the ATLAS detector itself.

Photon reconstruction in the ATLAS Inner Detector and Liquid Argon Barrel Calorimeter at the 2004 Combined Test Beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abat, E; Arik, E; Abdallah, J M; Addy, T N; Adragna, P; Aharrouche, M; Ahmad, A; Akesson, T P A; Aleksa, M; Anghinolfi, F; Baron, S; Alexa, C; Anderson, K; Andreazza, A; Banfi, D; Antonaki, A; Arabidze, G; Atkinson, T; Baines, J; Baker, O K

2011-01-01

The reconstruction of photons in the ATLAS detector is studied with data taken during the 2004 Combined Test Beam, where a full slice of the ATLAS detector was exposed to beams of particles of known energy at the CERN SPS. The results presented show significant differences in the longitudinal development of the electromagnetic shower between converted and unconverted photons as well as in the total measured energy. The potential to use the reconstructed converted photons as a means to precisely map the material of the tracker in front of the electromagnetic calorimeter is also considered. All results obtained are compared with a detailed Monte-Carlo simulation of the test-beam setup which is based on the same simulation and reconstruction tools as those used for the ATLAS detector itself.

Optical signal response pf the alanine gel solution for photons and electrons clinical beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Cleber Feijo; Campos, Leticia Lucente

2009-01-01

Alanine gel dosimeter is a new gel material developed at IPEN that presents significant improvement on previous alanine systems developed by Costa (1994). The measure technique is based on the transformation of ferrous ions (Fe 2+ ) in ferric ions (Fe 3+ ) after irradiation. The DL-Alanine (C 3 H 7 NO 2 ) is an aminoacid tissue equivalent that improves the production of ferric ions in the solution. This work aims to study the comparison of optical signal response of the alanine gel solution for photons and electrons clinical beams. It was observed that the calibration factor can be considered independent of quality of the radiation for photons and electrons clinical beams. Therefore, it can be used the same calibration factor for evaluating the absorbed dose in photons and electrons fields in the energy of 6 MeV. Alanine Gel Dosimeter presents good performance and can be useful as alternative dosimeter in the radiotherapy area using MRI technique for 3D dose distribution evaluation. (author)

Dosimetry of small circular beams of high energy photons for stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy: the use of small ionization chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazal, A.; Gaboriauid, G.; Zefkili, S.; Rosenwald, J.C.; Boutaudon, S.; Pontvert, D.

1999-01-01

The irradiation of small targets in the brain in a singe fraction (radiosurgery) or with a fractionated approach (stereotactic radiosurgery) with small beams of photons requires specific conditions to measure and to model the dosimetric data needed for treatment planning. In this work we present the method and materials adopted in our institution since 1988 to perform the dosimetry of high energy (6-23) circular photon beams with diameters ranging from 10 to 40 mm at the isocenter of linear accelerators, and its evolution as new dosimetric material became commercially available. in circular ionization chambers of small dimensions. We want to answer the following questions: Which are the minimal basic data needed to model small circular beams of high energy photons? Can we extrapolate or convert data from conventional data of larger beams? Which are the detectors well adapted for these kind of measurements and for which range of beam sizes?

Electron and photon-beam induced reactions of adsorbed disilane: Low-temperature thin-film growth

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozso, F.; Avouris, Ph.

1991-01-01

Electrons and photons of sufficient energy can cause fragmentation and desorption of adsorbed molecules or fragments of them, by inducing electronic excitations to dissociative states. The surface species after such excitations are mostly of highly reactive radical character, which readily react with the substrate and with other molecular or radical species in the adsorbed layer. This paper discusses the adsorption, thermal and electron/photon-beam induced reactions of disilane, oxygen and ammonia on Si(111)-7x7, and the electron/photon-induced growth of silicon, silicon dioxide and silicon nitride films at 100K

Near-Infrared and Optical Beam Steering and Frequency Splitting in Air-Holes-in-Silicon Inverse Photonic Crystals

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

We present the design of a dielectric inverse photonic crystal structure that couples line-defect waveguide propagating modes into highly directional beams of controllable directionality. The structure utilizes a triangular lattice made of air holes drilled in an infinitely thick Si slab, and it is designed for operation in the near-infrared and optical regime. The structure operation is based on the excitation and manipulation of dark dielectric surface states, in particular on the tailoring of the dark states’ coupling to outgoing radiation. This coupling is achieved with the use of properly designed external corrugations. The structure adapts and matches modes that travel through the photonic crystal and the free space. Moreover it facilitates the steering of the outgoing waves, is found to generate well-defined, spatially and spectrally isolated beams, and may serve as a frequency splitting component designed for operation in the near-infrared regime and in particular the telecom optical wavelength band. The design complies with the state-of-the-art Si nanofabrication technology and can be directly scaled for operation in the optical regime. PMID:29541653

Test-beam Results from a RICH Detector Prototype Using Aerogel Radiator and Pixel Hybrid Photon Detectors

CERN Document Server

Aglieri-Rinella, G; Van Lysebetten, A; Piedigrossi, D; Wyllie, K; Bellunato, T F; Calvi, M; Matteuzzi, C; Musy, M; Perego, D L; Somerville, L P; Newby, C; Easo, S; Wotton, S

2006-01-01

A test-beam study was performed at CERN with a Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) prototype using three pixel Hybrid Photon Detectors. Results on the photon yield and Cherenkov angle resolution are presented here, for the Aerogel radiator and also for reference runs taken with Nitrogen radiator.

Evaluation of a 50-MV photon therapy beam from a racetrack microtron using MCNP4B Monte Carlo code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gudowska, I.; Svensson, R.

2001-01-01

High energy photon therapy beam from the 50 MV racetrack microtron has been evaluated using the Monte Carlo code MCNP4B. The spatial and energy distribution of photons, radial and depth dose distributions in the phantom are calculated for the stationary and scanned photon beams from different targets. The calculated dose distributions are compared to the experimental data using a silicon diode detector. Measured and calculated depth-dose distributions are in fairly good agreement, within 2-3% for the positions in the range 2-30 cm in the phantom, whereas the larger discrepancies up to 10% are observed in the dose build-up region. For the stationary beams the differences in the calculated and measured radial dose distributions are about 2-10%. (orig.)

Photon beam asymmetry Σ for η and η′ photoproduction from the proton

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Collins

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Measurements of the linearly-polarized photon beam asymmetry Σ for photoproduction from the proton of η and η′ mesons are reported. A linearly-polarized tagged photon beam produced by coherent bremsstrahlung was incident on a cryogenic hydrogen target within the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer. Results are presented for the γp→ηp reaction for incident photon energies from 1.070 to 1.876 GeV, and from 1.516 to 1.836 GeV for the γp→η′p reaction. For γp→ηp, the data reported here considerably extend the range of measurements to higher energies, and are consistent with the few previously published measurements for this observable near threshold. For γp→η′p, the results obtained are consistent with the few previously published measurements for this observable near threshold, but also greatly expand the incident photon energy coverage for that reaction. Initial analysis of the data reported here with the Bonn–Gatchina model strengthens the evidence for four nucleon resonances – the N(18951/2−, N(19003/2+, N(21001/2+ and N(21203/2− resonances – which presently lack the “four-star” status in the current Particle Data Group compilation, providing examples of how these new measurements help refine models of the photoproduction process.

Photon beam asymmetry Σ for η and η‧ photoproduction from the proton

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, P.; Ritchie, B. G.; Dugger, M.; Anisovich, A. V.; Döring, M.; Klempt, E.; Nikonov, V. A.; Rönchen, D.; Sadasivan, D.; Sarantsev, A.; Adhikari, K. P.; Akbar, Z.; Amaryan, M. J.; Anefalos Pereira, S.; Avakian, H.; Ball, J.; Balossino, I.; Bashkanov, M.; Battaglieri, M.; Bedlinskiy, I.; Biselli, A. S.; Briscoe, W. J.; Brooks, W. K.; Burkert, V. D.; Cao, Frank Thanh; Carman, D. S.; Celentano, A.; Chandavar, S.; Charles, G.; Chetry, T.; Ciullo, G.; Clark, L.; Colaneri, L.; Cole, P. L.; Compton, N.; Contalbrigo, M.; Cortes, O.; Crede, V.; D'Angelo, A.; Dashyan, N.; De Vita, R.; De Sanctis, E.; Deur, A.; Djalali, C.; Dupre, R.; Egiyan, H.; El Alaoui, A.; El Fassi, L.; Elouadrhiri, L.; Eugenio, P.; Fanchini, E.; Fedotov, G.; Filippi, A.; Fleming, J. A.; Ghandilyan, Y.; Gilfoyle, G. P.; Giovanetti, K. L.; Girod, F. X.; Glazier, D. I.; Gleason, C.; Golovatch, E.; Gothe, R. W.; Griffioen, K. A.; Guo, L.; Hafidi, K.; Hakobyan, H.; Hanretty, C.; Harrison, N.; Heddle, D.; Hicks, K.; Holtrop, M.; Hughes, S. M.; Ilieva, Y.; Ireland, D. G.; Ishkhanov, B. S.; Isupov, E. L.; Jenkins, D.; Jo, H. S.; Joosten, S.; Keller, D.; Khachatryan, G.; Khachatryan, M.; Khandaker, M.; Kim, A.; Kim, W.; Klein, A.; Klein, F. J.; Kubarovsky, V.; Lanza, L.; Lenisa, P.; Livingston, K.; MacGregor, I. J. D.; Markov, N.; McKinnon, B.; Meyer, C. A.; Mirazita, M.; Mokeev, V.; Montgomery, R. A.; Movsisyan, A.; Munoz Camacho, C.; Murdoch, G.; Nadel-Turonski, P.; Niccolai, S.; Niculescu, G.; Niculescu, I.; Osipenko, M.; Ostrovidov, A. I.; Paolone, M.; Paremuzyan, R.; Park, K.; Pasyuk, E.; Phelps, W.; Pisano, S.; Pogorelko, O.; Price, J. W.; Prok, Y.; Protopopescu, D.; Raue, B. A.; Ripani, M.; Rizzo, A.; Rosner, G.; Roy, P.; Sabatié, F.; Salgado, C.; Schumacher, R. A.; Sharabian, Y. G.; Skorodumina, Iu.; Smith, G. D.; Sokhan, D.; Sparveris, N.; Stepanyan, S.; Strakovsky, I. I.; Strauch, S.; Taiuti, M.; Tian, Ye; Torayev, B.; Ungaro, M.; Voskanyan, H.; Voutier, E.; Walford, N. K.; Wei, X.; Zachariou, N.; Zhang, J.

2017-08-01

Measurements of the linearly-polarized photon beam asymmetry Σ for photoproduction from the proton of η and η‧ mesons are reported. A linearly-polarized tagged photon beam produced by coherent bremsstrahlung was incident on a cryogenic hydrogen target within the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer. Results are presented for the γp → ηp reaction for incident photon energies from 1.070 to 1.876 GeV, and from 1.516 to 1.836 GeV for the γp →η‧ p reaction. For γp → ηp, the data reported here considerably extend the range of measurements to higher energies, and are consistent with the few previously published measurements for this observable near threshold. For γp →η‧ p, the results obtained are consistent with the few previously published measurements for this observable near threshold, but also greatly expand the incident photon energy coverage for that reaction. Initial analysis of the data reported here with the Bonn-Gatchina model strengthens the evidence for four nucleon resonances - the N (1895) 1 /2-, N (1900) 3 /2+, N (2100) 1 /2+ and N (2120) 3 /2- resonances - which presently lack the ;four-star; status in the current Particle Data Group compilation, providing examples of how these new measurements help refine models of the photoproduction process.

Beam Techniques - Beam Control and Manipulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minty, Michiko G

2003-01-01

We describe commonly used strategies for the control of charged particle beams and the manipulation of their properties. Emphasis is placed on relativistic beams in linear accelerators and storage rings. After a brief review of linear optics, we discuss basic and advanced beam control techniques, such as transverse and longitudinal lattice diagnostics, matching, orbit correction and steering, beam-based alignment, and linac emittance preservation. A variety of methods for the manipulation of particle beam properties are also presented, for instance, bunch length and energy compression, bunch rotation, changes to the damping partition number, and beam collimation. The different procedures are illustrated by examples from various accelerators. Special topics include injection and extraction methods, beam cooling, spin transport and polarization

Beam Techniques - Beam Control and Manipulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minty, Michiko G

2003-04-24

We describe commonly used strategies for the control of charged particle beams and the manipulation of their properties. Emphasis is placed on relativistic beams in linear accelerators and storage rings. After a brief review of linear optics, we discuss basic and advanced beam control techniques, such as transverse and longitudinal lattice diagnostics, matching, orbit correction and steering, beam-based alignment, and linac emittance preservation. A variety of methods for the manipulation of particle beam properties are also presented, for instance, bunch length and energy compression, bunch rotation, changes to the damping partition number, and beam collimation. The different procedures are illustrated by examples from various accelerators. Special topics include injection and extraction methods, beam cooling, spin transport and polarization.

Integral window/photon beam position monitor and beam flux detectors for x-ray beams

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Deming; Kuzay, Tuncer M.

1995-01-01

A monitor/detector assembly in a synchrotron for either monitoring the position of a photon beam or detecting beam flux may additionally function as a vacuum barrier between the front end and downstream segment of the beamline in the synchrotron. A base flange of the monitor/detector assembly is formed of oxygen free copper with a central opening covered by a window foil that is fused thereon. The window foil is made of man-made materials, such as chemical vapor deposition diamond or cubic boron nitrate and in certain configurations includes a central opening through which the beams are transmitted. Sensors of low atomic number materials, such as aluminum or beryllium, are laid on the window foil. The configuration of the sensors on the window foil may be varied depending on the function to be performed. A contact plate of insulating material, such as aluminum oxide, is secured to the base flange and is thereby clamped against the sensor on the window foil. The sensor is coupled to external electronic signal processing devices via a gold or silver lead printed onto the contact plate and a copper post screw or alternatively via a copper screw and a copper spring that can be inserted through the contact plate and coupled to the sensors. In an alternate embodiment of the monitor/detector assembly, the sensors are sandwiched between the window foil of chemical vapor deposition diamond or cubic boron nitrate and a front foil made of similar material.

Three-dimensional SPECT [single photon emission computed tomography] reconstruction of combined cone beam and parallel beam data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaszczak, R.J.; Jianying Li; Huili Wang; Coleman, R.E.

1992-01-01

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using cone beam (CB) collimation exhibits increased sensitivity compared with acquisition geometries using parallel (P) hole collimation. However, CB collimation has a smaller field-of-view which may result in truncated projections and image artifacts. A primary objective of this work is to investigate maximum likelihood-expectation maximization (ML-EM) methods to reconstruct simultaneously acquired parallel and cone beam (P and CB) SPECT data. Simultaneous P and CB acquisition can be performed with commercially available triple camera systems by using two cone-beam collimators and a single parallel-hole collimator. The loss in overall sensitivity (relative to the use of three CB collimators) is about 15 to 20%. The authors have developed three methods to combine P and CB data using modified ML-EM algorithms. (author)

Calculation of Nuclear Particles Production at High-Energy Photon Beams from a Linac Operating at 6, 10 and 15 MV.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchesini, Renato; Bettega, Daniela; Calzolari, Paola; Pignoli, Emanuele

2017-05-01

Production of photonuclear particles in a tissue-equivalent medium has been calculated for linacs at 6, 10 and 15 MV from Varian TrueBeam. Based on the knowledge of bremsstrahlung fluence spectra and linac photon beam parameters, numerical integration was performed on the cross sections for photoparticle production of the constituent elements of tissue (2H,12C,13C,16O,17O,18O,14N,15N). At 15 MV, at the depth of photon maximum dose, the total absorbed dose due to neutrons, protons, alphas and residual nuclei from photon reactions in tissue (5.5E-05 Gy per Gy of photons) is comparable to that due to neutrons from accelerator head. Results reasonably agree with data reported in the literature using Monte Carlo models simulating linac head components. This work suggests a simple method to estimate the dose contributed by the photon-induced nuclear particles for high-energy photon beams produced by linacs in use, as it might be relevant for late stochastic effects. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Dosimetry quality audit of high energy photon beams in greek radiotherapy centers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hourdakis, Constantine J.; Boziari, A.

2008-01-01

Background and purpose: Dosimetry quality audits and intercomparisons in radiotherapy centers is a useful tool in order to enhance the confidence for an accurate therapy and to explore and dissolve discrepancies in dose delivery. This is the first national comprehensive study that has been carried out in Greece. During 2002 - 2006 the Greek Atomic Energy Commission performed a dosimetry quality audit of high energy external photon beams in all (23) Greek radiotherapy centers, where 31 linacs and 13 Co-60 teletherapy units were assessed in terms of their mechanical performance characteristics and relative and absolute dosimetry. Materials and Methods: The quality audit in dosimetry of external photon beams took place by means of on-site visits, where certain parameters of the photon beams were measured, calculated and assessed according to a specific protocol and the IAEA TRS 398 dosimetry code of practice. In each radiotherapy unit (Linac or Co-60), certain functional parameters were measured and the results were compared to tolerance values and limits. Doses in water under reference and non reference conditions were measured and compared to the stated values. Also, the treatment planning systems (TPS) were evaluated with respect to irradiation time calculations. Results: The results of the mechanical tests, dosimetry measurements and TPS evaluation have been presented in this work and discussed in detail. This study showed that Co-60 units had worse performance mechanical characteristics than linacs. 28% of all irradiation units (23% of linacs and 42% of Co-60 units) exceeded the acceptance limit at least in one mechanical parameter. Dosimetry accuracy was much worse in Co60 units than in linacs. 61% of the Co60 units exhibited deviations outside ±3% and 31% outside ±5%. The relevant percentages for the linacs were 24% and 7% respectively. The results were grouped for each hospital and the sources of errors (functional and human) have been investigated and

Dosimetry quality audit of high energy photon beams in greek radiotherapy centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hourdakis, Constantine J; Boziari, A

2008-04-01

Dosimetry quality audits and intercomparisons in radiotherapy centers is a useful tool in order to enhance the confidence for an accurate therapy and to explore and dissolve discrepancies in dose delivery. This is the first national comprehensive study that has been carried out in Greece. During 2002--2006 the Greek Atomic Energy Commission performed a dosimetry quality audit of high energy external photon beams in all (23) Greek radiotherapy centers, where 31 linacs and 13 Co-60 teletherapy units were assessed in terms of their mechanical performance characteristics and relative and absolute dosimetry. The quality audit in dosimetry of external photon beams took place by means of on-site visits, where certain parameters of the photon beams were measured, calculated and assessed according to a specific protocol and the IAEA TRS 398 dosimetry code of practice. In each radiotherapy unit (Linac or Co-60), certain functional parameters were measured and the results were compared to tolerance values and limits. Doses in water under reference and non reference conditions were measured and compared to the stated values. Also, the treatment planning systems (TPS) were evaluated with respect to irradiation time calculations. The results of the mechanical tests, dosimetry measurements and TPS evaluation have been presented in this work and discussed in detail. This study showed that Co-60 units had worse performance mechanical characteristics than linacs. 28% of all irradiation units (23% of linacs and 42% of Co-60 units) exceeded the acceptance limit at least in one mechanical parameter. Dosimetry accuracy was much worse in Co60 units than in linacs. 61% of the Co60 units exhibited deviations outside +/-3% and 31% outside +/-5%. The relevant percentages for the linacs were 24% and 7% respectively. The results were grouped for each hospital and the sources of errors (functional and human) have been investigated and discussed in details. This quality audit proved to be a

Comparison of Head Scatter Factor for 6MV and 10MV flattened (FB) and Unflattened (FFF) Photon Beam using indigenously Designed Columnar Mini Phantom.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashokkumar, Sigamani; Nambi Raj, N Arunai; Sinha, Sujit Nath; Yadav, Girigesh; Thiyagarajan, Rajesh; Raman, Kothanda; Mishra, Manindra Bhushan

2014-07-01

To measure and compare the head scatter factor for flattened (FB) and unflattened (FFF) of 6MV and 10MV photon beam using indigenously designed mini phantom. A columnar mini phantom was designed as recommended by AAPM Task Group 74 with low and high atomic number materials at 10 cm (mini phantom) and at approximately twice the depth of maximum dose water equivalent thickness (brass build-up cap). Scatter in the accelerator (Sc) values of 6MV-FFF photon beams are lesser than that of the 6MV-FB photon beams (0.66-2.8%; Clinac iX, 2300CD) and (0.47-1.74%; True beam) for field sizes ranging from 10 × 10 cm(2) to 40 × 40 cm(2). Sc values of 10MV-FFF photon beams are lesser (0.61-2.19%; True beam) than that of the 10MV-FB photons beams for field sizes ranging from 10 × 10 cm(2) to 40 × 40 cm(2). The SSD had no influence on head scatter for both flattened and unflattened beams and irrespective of head design of the different linear accelerators. The presence of field shaping device influences the Sc values. The collimator exchange effect reveals that the opening of the upper jaw increases Sc irrespective of FB or FFF photon beams and different linear accelerators, and it is less significant in FFF beams. Sc values of 6MV-FB square field were in good agreement with that of AAPM, TG-74 published data for Varian (Clinac iX, 2300CD) accelerator. Our results confirm that the removal of flattening filter decreases in the head scatter factor compared to flattened beam. This could reduce the out-of-field dose in advanced treatment delivery techniques.

Why diamond dimensions and electrode geometry are crucial for small photon beam dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marsolat, F.; Tromson, D.; Tranchant, N.; Pomorski, M.; Bergonzo, P.; Bassinet, C.; Huet, C.; Derreumaux, S.; Chea, M.; Cristina, K.; Boisserie, G.; Buchheit, I.; Marchesi, V.; Gaudaire-Josset, S.; Lisbona, A.; Lazaro, D.; Hugon, R.

2015-01-01

Recent use of very small photon beams (down to 4 mm) in stereotactic radiotherapy requires new detectors to accurately determine the delivered dose. Diamond detectors have been presented in the literature as an attractive candidate for this application, due to their small detection volume and the diamond atomic number (Z = 6) which is close to water effective atomic number (Zeff ∼ 7.42). However, diamond exhibits a density 3.51 times greater than that of water and recent studies using Monte Carlo simulations have demonstrated the drawback of a high-density detector on small beam output factors. The current study focuses on geometrical parameters of diamond detector, namely, the diamond dimensions and the electrode geometry, in order to solve the dosimetric issues still observed in small photon beams with diamond detectors. To give better insights to these open questions, we have used both computational method and experimental analysis. This study highlighted that reducing diamond dimensions is crucial for small beam output factor measurements and to limit the influence of its high density. Furthermore, electrodes covering the whole diamond surface were essential for a dose rate independence of the diamond detector. The optimal dosimeter derived from this work presented small diamond dimensions of approximately 1 × 1 × 0.15 mm 3 , with diamond-like-carbon electrodes covering the whole diamond surface. A dose rate independence of this diamond detector (better than 0.5% over a wide range of dose rates available on a stereotactic dedicated facility) was obtained due to the electrode geometry. Concerning the output factor measurements, a good agreement (better than 1.1%) was observed between this carbon material detector and two types of passive dosimeters (LiF microcubes and EBT2 radiochromic films) for all beam sizes except the smallest field of 0.6 × 0.6 cm 2 with a deviation of 2.6%. This new study showed the high performance of this

Why diamond dimensions and electrode geometry are crucial for small photon beam dosimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marsolat, F.; Tromson, D.; Tranchant, N.; Pomorski, M.; Bergonzo, P. [CEA, LIST, Diamond Sensors Laboratory, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Bassinet, C.; Huet, C. [IRSN, PRP-HOM/SDE/LDRI, 31 Av. de la Division Leclerc, 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Derreumaux, S. [IRSN, PRP-HOM/SER/UEM, 31 Av. de la Division Leclerc, 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Chea, M.; Cristina, K.; Boisserie, G. [Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, 47-83 Blvd de l' Hôpital, 75013 Paris (France); Buchheit, I.; Marchesi, V. [Institut de Cancérologie de Lorraine, 6 Av. de Bourgogne, 54500 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy (France); Gaudaire-Josset, S.; Lisbona, A. [Institut de Cancérologie de l' Ouest, Blvd Prof. Jacques Monod, 44805 Saint-Herblain (France); Lazaro, D.; Hugon, R. [CEA, LIST, LM2S, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

2015-12-21

Recent use of very small photon beams (down to 4 mm) in stereotactic radiotherapy requires new detectors to accurately determine the delivered dose. Diamond detectors have been presented in the literature as an attractive candidate for this application, due to their small detection volume and the diamond atomic number (Z = 6) which is close to water effective atomic number (Zeff ∼ 7.42). However, diamond exhibits a density 3.51 times greater than that of water and recent studies using Monte Carlo simulations have demonstrated the drawback of a high-density detector on small beam output factors. The current study focuses on geometrical parameters of diamond detector, namely, the diamond dimensions and the electrode geometry, in order to solve the dosimetric issues still observed in small photon beams with diamond detectors. To give better insights to these open questions, we have used both computational method and experimental analysis. This study highlighted that reducing diamond dimensions is crucial for small beam output factor measurements and to limit the influence of its high density. Furthermore, electrodes covering the whole diamond surface were essential for a dose rate independence of the diamond detector. The optimal dosimeter derived from this work presented small diamond dimensions of approximately 1 × 1 × 0.15 mm{sup 3}, with diamond-like-carbon electrodes covering the whole diamond surface. A dose rate independence of this diamond detector (better than 0.5% over a wide range of dose rates available on a stereotactic dedicated facility) was obtained due to the electrode geometry. Concerning the output factor measurements, a good agreement (better than 1.1%) was observed between this carbon material detector and two types of passive dosimeters (LiF microcubes and EBT2 radiochromic films) for all beam sizes except the smallest field of 0.6 × 0.6 cm{sup 2} with a deviation of 2.6%. This new study showed the high performance

Skin damage probabilities using fixation materials in high-energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carl, J.; Vestergaard, A.

2000-01-01

Patient fixation, such as thermoplastic masks, carbon-fibre support plates and polystyrene bead vacuum cradles, is used to reproduce patient positioning in radiotherapy. Consequently low-density materials may be introduced in high-energy photon beams. The aim of the this study was to measure the increase in skin dose when low-density materials are present and calculate the radiobiological consequences in terms of probabilities of early and late skin damage. An experimental thin-windowed plane-parallel ion chamber was used. Skin doses were measured using various overlaying low-density fixation materials. A fixed geometry of a 10 x 10 cm field, a SSD = 100 cm and photon energies of 4, 6 and 10 MV on Varian Clinac 2100C accelerators were used for all measurements. Radiobiological consequences of introducing these materials into the high-energy photon beams were evaluated in terms of early and late damage of the skin based on the measured surface doses and the LQ-model. The experimental ion chamber save results consistent with other studies. A relationship between skin dose and material thickness in mg/cm 2 was established and used to calculate skin doses in scenarios assuming radiotherapy treatment with opposed fields. Conventional radiotherapy may apply mid-point doses up to 60-66 Gy in daily 2-Gy fractions opposed fields. Using thermoplastic fixation and high-energy photons as low as 4 MV do increase the dose to the skin considerably. However, using thermoplastic materials with thickness less than 100 mg/cm 2 skin doses are comparable with those produced by variation in source to skin distance, field size or blocking trays within clinical treatment set-ups. The use of polystyrene cradles and carbon-fibre materials with thickness less than 100 mg/cm 2 should be avoided at 4 MV at doses above 54-60 Gy. (author)

Characterization of a remote optical element with bi-photons

Science.gov (United States)

Puhlmann, D.; Henkel, C.; Heuer, A.; Pieplow, G.; Menzel, R.

2016-02-01

We present a simple setup that exploits the interference of entangled photon pairs. ‘Signal’ photons are sent through a Mach-Zehnder-like interferometer, while ‘idlers’ are detected in a variable polarization state. Two-photon interference (in coincidence detection) is observed with very high contrast and for significant time delays between signal and idler detection events. This is explained by quantum erasure of the polarization tag and a delayed choice protocol involving a non-local virtual polarizer. The phase of the two-photon fringes is scanned by varying the path length in the signal beam or by rotating a birefringent crystal in the idler beam. We exploit this to characterize one beam splitter of the signal photon interferometer (reflection and transmission amplitudes including losses), using only information about coincidences and control parameters in the idler path. This is possible because our bi-photon state saturates the Greenberger-Yelin-Englert inequality between contrast and predictability.

Characterization of a remote optical element with bi-photons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puhlmann, D; Henkel, C; Heuer, A; Pieplow, G; Menzel, R

2016-01-01

We present a simple setup that exploits the interference of entangled photon pairs. ‘Signal’ photons are sent through a Mach–Zehnder-like interferometer, while ‘idlers’ are detected in a variable polarization state. Two-photon interference (in coincidence detection) is observed with very high contrast and for significant time delays between signal and idler detection events. This is explained by quantum erasure of the polarization tag and a delayed choice protocol involving a non-local virtual polarizer. The phase of the two-photon fringes is scanned by varying the path length in the signal beam or by rotating a birefringent crystal in the idler beam. We exploit this to characterize one beam splitter of the signal photon interferometer (reflection and transmission amplitudes including losses), using only information about coincidences and control parameters in the idler path. This is possible because our bi-photon state saturates the Greenberger–Yelin–Englert inequality between contrast and predictability. (invited comment)

Photon beam dose distributions for patients with implanted temporary tissue expanders

Science.gov (United States)

Asena, A.; Kairn, T.; Crowe, S. B.; Trapp, J. V.

2015-01-01

This study examines the effects of temporary tissue expanders (TTEs) on the dose distributions of photon beams in breast cancer radiotherapy treatments. EBT2 radiochromic film and ion chamber measurements were taken to quantify the attenuation and backscatter effects of the inhomogeneity. Results illustrate that the internal magnetic port present in a tissue expander causes a dose reduction of approximately 25% in photon tangent fields immediately downstream of the implant. It was also shown that the silicone elastomer shell of the tissue expander reduced the dose to the target volume by as much as 8%. This work demonstrates the importance for an accurately modelled high-density implant in the treatment planning system for post-mastectomy breast cancer patients.

Modulation of controlled-not gate using light beams carrying orbital angular momentum in a nonlinear atomic vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Li, YuanYuan; Zhang, YunZhe

2018-03-01

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a controlled-not gate with light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) through a degenerate four-wave mixing process via a photonic band gap structure satisfying the phase-matching condition. By employing the different topological charges of a Laguerre-Gaussian beam as a qubit in this nonlinear process, the controlled-not gate with OAM can be realized. Moreover, we investigate the evolution of the controlled-not gate, which can be modulated by the frequency and the power of the incident beam, i.e., under electromagnetically induced transparency conditions. The study results are useful for applications in quantum communication and information storage.

Laser-Driven Very High Energy Electron/Photon Beam Radiation Therapy in Conjunction with a Robotic System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuhisa Nakajima

2014-12-01

Full Text Available We present a new external-beam radiation therapy system using very-high-energy (VHE electron/photon beams generated by a centimeter-scale laser plasma accelerator built in a robotic system. Most types of external-beam radiation therapy are delivered using a machine called a medical linear accelerator driven by radio frequency (RF power amplifiers, producing electron beams with an energy range of 6–20 MeV, in conjunction with modern radiation therapy technologies for effective shaping of three-dimensional dose distributions and spatially accurate dose delivery with imaging verification. However, the limited penetration depth and low quality of the transverse penumbra at such electron beams delivered from the present RF linear accelerators prevent the implementation of advanced modalities in current cancer treatments. These drawbacks can be overcome if the electron energy is increased to above 50 MeV. To overcome the disadvantages of the present RF-based medical accelerators, harnessing recent advancement of laser-driven plasma accelerators capable of producing 1-GeV electron beams in a 1-cm gas cell, we propose a new embodiment of the external-beam radiation therapy robotic system delivering very high-energy electron/photon beams with an energy of 50–250 MeV; it is more compact, less expensive, and has a simpler operation and higher performance in comparison with the current radiation therapy system.

A novel optical beam splitter based on photonic crystal with hybrid lattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Qing-Yi; Fu Yong-Qi; Zhang Zhi-Min; Hu De-Qing

2012-01-01

A novel optical beam splitter constructed on the basis of photonic crystal (PC) with hybrid lattices is proposed in this paper. The band gap of square-lattice PC is so designed that the incident light is divided into several branch beams. Triangular-lattice graded-index PCs are combined for focusing each branch. Computational calculations are carried out on the basis of finite-different time-domain algorithm to prove the feasibility of our design. The waveguide is unnecessary in the design. Thus the device has functions of both splitting and focusing beams. Size of the divided beam at site of full-width at half-maximum is of the order of λ/2. The designed splitter has the advantages that it has a small volume and can be integrated by conventional semiconductor manufacturing process. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Challenges of fabricating plasmonic and photonic structures with Neon ion beam milling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leißner, Till; Fiutowski, Jacek; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I.

-established electron beam lithography and focussed ion beam milling (FIB) using Gallium ions. These techniques, however, are to some extend limited in their resolution, and in addition Gallium and Carbon are implanted and deposited into the plasmonic structures during FIB process, potentially changing plasmonic...... properties. We are currently studying the capabilities of focussed Helium and Neon ion beam milling for the fabricating of plasmonic and photonic devices. We found that Neon ion beam milling enables us to prepare plasmonic structures, such as trenches (see Fig. 1) and V-grooves without doping and alloying...... effects specific to Galium FIB. Neon FIB milling is superior to Helium FIB milling in terms of the processing speed and smaller levels of implanted ions. From our perspective it is the most promising technique for the fabrication of individual plasmonic devices with a few nanometers precision. The main...

Integration of a photonic crystal polarization beam splitter and waveguide bend.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Wanhua; Xing, Mingxin; Ren, Gang; Johnson, Steven G; Zhou, Wenjun; Chen, Wei; Chen, Lianghui

2009-05-11

In this work, we present the design of an integrated photonic-crystal polarization beam splitter (PC-PBS) and a low-loss photonic-crystal 60 degrees waveguide bend. Firstly, the modal properties of the PC-PBS and the mechanism of the low-loss waveguide bend are investigated by the two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, and then the integration of the two devices is studied. It shows that, although the individual devices perform well separately, the performance of the integrated circuit is poor due to the multi-mode property of the PC-PBS. By introducing deformed airhole structures, a single-mode PC-PBS is proposed, which significantly enhance the performance of the circuit with the extinction ratios remaining above 20 dB for both transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations. Both the specific result and the general idea of integration design are promising in the photonic crystal integrated circuits in the future.

High energy photon reference for radiation protection: technical design of the LINAC beam and ionization chambers; and calculation of monoenergetic conversion coefficients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dusciac D.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this work, we present the results of the first part of a research project aimed at offering a complete response to dosimeters providers and nuclear physicists’ demands for high-energy (6 – 9 MeV photon beams for radiation protection purposes. Classical facilities allowing the production of high-energy photonic radiation (proton accelerators, nuclear reactors are very rare and need large investment for development and use. A novel solution is proposed, consisting in the use of a medical linear accelerator, allowing a significant decrease of all costs.Using Monte Carlo simulations (MCNP5 and PENELOPE codes, a specifically designed electron-photon conversion target allowing for obtaining a high energy photon beam (with an average energy weighted by fluence of about 6 MeV has been built for radiation protection purposes. Due to the specific design of the target, this “realistic” radiation protection high-energy photon beam presents a uniform distribution of air kerma rate at a distance of 1 m, over a 30 × 30 cm2 surface. Two graphite cavity ionizing chambers for ionometric measurements have been built. For one of these chambers, the charge collection volume has been measured allowing for its use as a primary standard. The second ionizing chamber is used as a transfer standard; as such it has been calibrated in a 60Co beam, and in the high energy photon beam for radiation protection.The measurements with these ionizing chambers allowed for an evaluation of the air kerma rate in the LINAC based high-energy photon beam for radiation protection: the values cover a range between 36 mGy/h and 210 mGy/h, compatible with radiation protection purposes.Finally, using Monte Carlo simulations, conversion coefficients from air kerma to dose equivalent quantities have been calculated in the range between 10 keV and 22.4 MeV, for the spectral distribution of the fluence corresponding to the beam produced by the linear accelerator of the LNE-LNHB.

Modification of H2O adsorbed Si(100)-(2 x 1) surface by photon and electron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, S.W.; Chung, S.M.; Hwang, C.C.; Ihm, K.W.; Kang, T.-H.; Chen, C.H.; Park, C.-Y.

2004-01-01

Full text: Oxidation of silicon has been the subject of intense scientific and technological interest due to the several uses of thin oxide films as insulating layers in microelectronic devices. The great strides have been made in understanding about the formation and thermal evolution of the Si/SiO 2 interface. In this presentation, we provide synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES) and photoemission electron microscope (PEEM) results, showing how a H 2 O adsorbed Si(100) surface evolves into an ultra-thin silicon oxide m when exposed to monochromatized synchrotron radiation and electron beam at room temperature. All SRPES, PEEM experiments have been performed at the beam line, 4B1, of Pohang Light Source (PLS) in Korea. Water dissociates into OH(a) and H(a) species upon adsorption on the Si(100)-(2 - 1) at room temperature. The bonding (b 2 ) and antibonding (a 1 ) OH orbital and the oxygen lone pair orbital (b 1 ) from the dissociated OH and H species has been identified in ultraviolet photoemission spectra (UPS). These structures gradually changed and a new silicon oxide peak appeared with the photon/E-beam irradiation. This indicates that the H 2 O adsorbed on Si surface transforms into a thin silicon oxide film by photon/E-beam irradiation. We have shown in our PEEM images that one can make micro-patterns on silicon surface by using the photon induced surface modification. The fabricated patterns can be clearly identified through the inverse contrast images between photon exposed region and unexposed one. The near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) results revealed that the OH adsorbed Si surface transforms into a thin silicon oxide film by photon irradiation

The effect of energy spectrum change on DNA damage in and out of field in 10-MV clinical photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Ezzati, A O; Xiao, Y; Sohrabpour, M; Studenski, M T

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to quantify the DNA damage induced in a clinical megavoltage photon beam at various depths in and out of the field. MCNPX was used to simulate 10 × 10 and 20 × 20 cm(2) 10-MV photon beams from a clinical linear accelerator. Photon and electron spectra were collected in a water phantom at depths of 2.5, 12.5 and 22.5 cm on the central axis and at off-axis points out to 10 cm. These spectra were used as an input to a validated microdosimetric Monte Carlo code, MCDS, to calculate the RBE of induced DSB in DNA at points in and out of the primary radiation field at three depths. There was an observable difference in the energy spectra for photons and electrons for points in the primary radiation field and those points out of field. In the out-of-field region, the mean energy for the photon and electron spectra decreased by a factor of about six and three from the in-field mean energy, respectively. Despite the differences in spectra and mean energy, the change in RBE was photon and electron spectra, these changes do not correlate with a change in RBE in a clinical MV photon beam as the electron spectra are dominated by electrons with energies >20 keV.

Characterization of phenolic pellets for ESR dosimetry in photon beam radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallo, Salvatore; Veronese, Ivan; Iacoviello, Giuseppina; Panzeca, Salvatore; Bartolotta, Antonio; Longo, Anna; Dondi, Daniele; Gueli, Anna Maria; Loi, Gianfranco; Mones, Eleonora; Marrale, Maurizio

2017-01-01

This work deals with the dosimetric features of a particular phenolic compound (IRGANOX 1076 registered ) for dosimetry of clinical photon beams by using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. After the optimization of the ESR readout parameters (namely modulation amplitude and microwave power) to maximise the signal without excessive spectrum distortions, basic dosimetric properties of laboratory-made phenolic dosimeters in pellet form, such as reproducibility, dose-response, sensitivity, linearity and dose rate dependence were investigated. The dosimeters were tested by measuring the depth dose profile of a 6 MV photon beam. A satisfactory intra-batch reproducibility of the ESR signal of the manufactured dosimeters was obtained. The ESR signal proved to increase linearly with increasing dose in the investigated dose range 1-13 Gy. The presence of an intrinsic background signal limits the minimum detectable dose to a value of approximately 0.6 Gy. Reliable and accurate assessment of the dose was achieved, independently of the dose rate. Such characteristics, together with the fact that IRGANOX 1076 registered is almost tissue-equivalent, and the stability of the ESR signal, make these dosimeters promising materials for ESR dosimetric applications in radiotherapy. (orig.)

Characterization of phenolic pellets for ESR dosimetry in photon beam radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gallo, Salvatore; Veronese, Ivan [Universita degli Studi di Milano, Department of Physics, Milan (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano (Italy); Iacoviello, Giuseppina [Hospital ARNAS-Civico, Medical Physics Department, Palermo (Italy); Panzeca, Salvatore [Universita degli Studi di Palermo, Department of Physics and Chemistry, Palermo (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare-Sezione di Catania, Catania (Italy); Bartolotta, Antonio; Longo, Anna [Universita degli Studi di Palermo, Department of Physics and Chemistry, Palermo (Italy); Dondi, Daniele [Universita degli Studi di Pavia, Department of Chemistry, Pavia (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pavia (Italy); Gueli, Anna Maria [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare-Sezione di Catania, Catania (Italy); Universita degli Studi di Catania, Department of Physics and Astronomy, PH3DRA Laboratories, Catania (Italy); Loi, Gianfranco; Mones, Eleonora [Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Maggiore della Carita, Medical Physics Department, Novara (Italy); Marrale, Maurizio [Universita degli Studi di Palermo, Department of Physics and Chemistry, Palermo (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare-Sezione di Catania, Catania (Italy); Universita degli Studi di Palermo, Advanced Technologies Network Center (ATeN Center), Palermo (Italy)

2017-11-15

This work deals with the dosimetric features of a particular phenolic compound (IRGANOX 1076 {sup registered}) for dosimetry of clinical photon beams by using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. After the optimization of the ESR readout parameters (namely modulation amplitude and microwave power) to maximise the signal without excessive spectrum distortions, basic dosimetric properties of laboratory-made phenolic dosimeters in pellet form, such as reproducibility, dose-response, sensitivity, linearity and dose rate dependence were investigated. The dosimeters were tested by measuring the depth dose profile of a 6 MV photon beam. A satisfactory intra-batch reproducibility of the ESR signal of the manufactured dosimeters was obtained. The ESR signal proved to increase linearly with increasing dose in the investigated dose range 1-13 Gy. The presence of an intrinsic background signal limits the minimum detectable dose to a value of approximately 0.6 Gy. Reliable and accurate assessment of the dose was achieved, independently of the dose rate. Such characteristics, together with the fact that IRGANOX 1076 {sup registered} is almost tissue-equivalent, and the stability of the ESR signal, make these dosimeters promising materials for ESR dosimetric applications in radiotherapy. (orig.)

Contribution to the planning and dosimetry of photon beams applied to radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Walter Menezes

2003-08-01

Radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy are irradiation techniques that use small diameter photon beams for treating intracranial lesions such as pituitary adenomas, acoustic tumors and arterio-venous malformations which are inaccessible for surgery. These treatment techniques are characterized by the use of very small radiation beams which deliver a precisely measured dose to the target volume, while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Treatment can be performed by using multiple 60 Co gamma-ray sources (in the so-called 'Gamma Knife'), charged particles or X-ray beams produced by linear accelerators. The prescribed dose can be given in a single session or in multiple fractions, as in conventional radiotherapy. The success of the treatment depends, among other factors, of the accurate determination of the parameters that characterize the radiation beam produced by the equipment, as well as, of a well designed quality assurance program. In this study, the dosimetric parameters of a set of collimating cones of a Radionics TM treatment system applied to two 6 MV- photon beams (Clinac 600C - Varian TM , and Mevatron MD2 - Siemens TM ) were evaluated by using a water filled PMMA simulator. Measurements were carried out for photon beam diameters ranging from 12.5 to 40.0 mm for the Clinac-600C and from 5.0 to 50.0 mm for the Mevatron MD2. The parameters were evaluated by using a parallel plate ionization chamber (Markus), Kodak X-Omat V dosimetric films, thermoluminescent dosemeters (Harschaw, TLD-100) and photodiodes. The maximum tissue-ratio, the off-axis profile and the output factors were determined and the results were compared to those reported elsewhere. A study of the dosimetric characteristics of some commercially available phototransistors was also carried out. The results showed that these electronic components can be successfully used for measuring the dosimetric parameters of small diameter photon beans used in radiosurgery. Measurements were also

Features of possible polarized photon beams at high energy and corresponding physics programme or the proton structure function using real photons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tannenbaum, M.J.

1980-01-01

In the range of electron energies available at Fermilab, 100 GeV less than or equal to E less than or equal to 500 GeV, coherent Bremsstrahlung in crystals, particularly diamond, gives a huge enhancement to the equivalent photon spectrum at large values of x where x = k/E. The photons in this enhancement are polarized. Requirements on electron beam energy spread, angular divergence and spot size imposed by the use of a diamond as a radiator are discussed. The physics program emphasizes hard processes and tests of QCD using polarization

Advanced Photon Source research: Volume 1, Number 1, April 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-04-01

The following articles are included in this publication: (1) The Advanced Photon Source: A Brief Overview; (2) MAD Analysis of FHIT at the Structural Biology Center; (3) Advances in High-Energy-Resolution X-ray Scattering at Beamline 3-ID; (4) X-ray Imaging and Microspectroscopy of the Mycorrhyizal Fungus-Plant Symbiosis; (5) Measurement and Control of Particle-beam Trajectories in the Advanced Photon Storage Ring; (6) Beam Acceleration and Storage at the Advanced Photon Source; and (7) Experimental Facilities Operations and Current Status

Propagation of photons induced by a proton beam in a quartz bar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plaszczynski, S.; Torassa, E.; Wormser, G.; Aleksan, R.; Amadon, A.; Besson, P.; Bourgeois, P.; Monchenault, G.H.

1995-01-01

For the BABAR experiment, an amplitude and timing analysis produced by a proton beam in a quartz bar has been performed. The photoelectron yield is obtained for different angles and positions. It is found that the linear speed of propagation of the Cherenkov photons through the bar is well described by internal reflections. The timing analysis reveals also the existence of an unexpected parasite light component, not described by the simulation. However, all the results can be reproduced by adding an isotopic scintillation of about 4 photons/cm in the quartz bar on the trajectory of the primary proton, in 50 % of the cases. (authors)

Correction factors for photon beam quality for cylindrical ionization chambers: Monte Carlo calculations by using the PENELOPE code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barreras Caballero, A. A.; Hernandez Garcia, J.J.; Alfonso Laguardia, R.

2009-01-01

Were directly determined correction factors depending on the type camera beam quality, k, Q, and kQ, Qo, instead of the product (w, air p) Q, for three type cylindrical ionization chambers Pinpoint and divergent monoenergetic beams of photons in a wide range of energies (4-20 MV). The method of calculation used dispenses with the approaches taken in the classic procedure considered independent of braking power ratios and the factors disturbance of the camera. A detailed description of the geometry and materials chambers were supplied by the manufacturer and used as data input for the system 2006 of PENELOPE Monte Carlo calculation using a User code that includes correlated sampling, and forced interactions division of particles. We used a photon beam Co-60 as beam reference for calculating the correction factors for beam quality. No data exist for the cameras PTW 31014, 31015 and 31016 in the TRS-398 at they do not compare the results with data calculated or determined experimentally by other authors. (author)

An alternative approach to compensators design for photon beams used in radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jurkovic, S.; Zauhar, G.; Bistrovic, M.; Faj, D.; Kaliman, Z.; Smilovic Radojcic, D.

2007-01-01

The use of compensators in order to achieve desired dose distribution has a long history and is a well-established technique in radiation therapy planning. There are several different calculation methods for determining a compensator's thickness. An alternative method that is based on the Cunningham's modification of Clarkson's method to calculate scattered radiation in beams with an inhomogeneous cross-section is proposed. It is well known that the total dose distribution of radiotherapy photon beam consists of the contributions of the primary beam, attenuated by the tissue layer, and the scattered radiation generated by the primary radiation in single and multiple photon scatter events. The scattered component can be represented as a function of the primary radiation. The central point of our method is the numerical estimation of the primary distribution required to achieve the desired total distribution. Now using the calculated primary distribution, the shape of the modulator could be determined. In this way the contribution of the scattered component is validated in a more accurate way than using effective attenuation coefficients, which is a common practice. The method is verified in various clinical situations and compared with the standard method. The accuracy, although dependent on geometry, was improved by at least 2%. With more complex geometries there is an even higher gain in accuracy with our method when compared to the standard method

Controlled Photon Switch Assisted by Coupled Quantum Dots

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Ming-Xing; Ma, Song-Ya; Chen, Xiu-Bo; Wang, Xiaojun

2015-01-01

Quantum switch is a primitive element in quantum network communication. In contrast to previous switch schemes on one degree of freedom (DOF) of quantum systems, we consider controlled switches of photon system with two DOFs. These controlled photon switches are constructed by exploring the optical selection rules derived from the quantum-dot spins in one-sided optical microcavities. Several double controlled-NOT gate on different joint systems are greatly simplified with an auxiliary DOF of the controlling photon. The photon switches show that two DOFs of photons can be independently transmitted in quantum networks. This result reduces the quantum resources for quantum network communication. PMID:26095049

Two-Photon-Absorption Scheme for Optical Beam Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz, Gerardo G.; Farr, William H.

2011-01-01

A new optical beam tracking approach for free-space optical communication links using two-photon absorption (TPA) in a high-bandgap detector material was demonstrated. This tracking scheme is part of the canonical architecture described in the preceding article. TPA is used to track a long-wavelength transmit laser while direct absorption on the same sensor simultaneously tracks a shorter-wavelength beacon. The TPA responsivity was measured for silicon using a PIN photodiode at a laser beacon wavelength of 1,550 nm. As expected, the responsivity shows a linear dependence with incident power level. The responsivity slope is 4.5 x 10(exp -7) A/W2. Also, optical beam spots from the 1,550-nm laser beacon were characterized on commercial charge coupled device (CCD) and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imagers with as little as 13.7 microWatts of optical power (see figure). This new tracker technology offers an innovative solution to reduce system complexity, improve transmit/receive isolation, improve optical efficiency, improve signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and reduce cost for free-space optical communications transceivers.

A fixed angle double mirror filter for preparing a pink undulator beam at the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dufresne, E.; Sanchez, T.; Nurushev, T.; Clarke, R.; Dierker, S.B.

2000-01-01

Recent advances in X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS) use the full bandwidth of an undulator harmonic in order to maximize the coherent flux for small angle X-ray scattering experiments. X-ray mirrors and filters are typically used to select a given harmonic of the spectrum. At the University of Michigan/Howard University/Lucent Technologies, Bell Labs, Collaborative Access Team (MHATT-CAT) undulator beamline of the Advanced Photon Source, we have designed a fixed-angle Double Mirror Filter which will provide a 'pink beam' (i.e., 2-3% bandwidth) for XPCS experiments. This device uses two small mirrors which vertically reflect a 0.1 mmx0.1 mm white beam in a symmetric geometry. The doubly reflected beam propagates parallel to the incident white beam, but is offset vertically by 35 mm. Using the standard offset of the APS allows one to stop the white beam with a standard APS beam stop. In this report, we will describe our design considerations for this instrument. We also report the results of preliminary tests of the performance. The mirrors preserve the transverse coherence of the source, and filter the undulator spectrum as expected

Compact quasi-monoenergetic photon sources from laser-plasma accelerators for nuclear detection and characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geddes, Cameron G.R., E-mail: cgrgeddes@lbl.gov; Rykovanov, Sergey; Matlis, Nicholas H.; Steinke, Sven; Vay, Jean-Luc; Esarey, Eric H.; Ludewigt, Bernhard; Nakamura, Kei; Quiter, Brian J.; Schroeder, Carl B.; Toth, Csaba; Leemans, Wim P.

2015-05-01

Near-monoenergetic photon sources at MeV energies offer improved sensitivity at greatly reduced dose for active interrogation, and new capabilities in treaty verification, nondestructive assay of spent nuclear fuel and emergency response. Thomson (also referred to as Compton) scattering sources are an established method to produce appropriate photon beams. Applications are however restricted by the size of the required high-energy electron linac, scattering (photon production) system, and shielding for disposal of the high energy electron beam. Laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) produce GeV electron beams in centimeters, using the plasma wave driven by the radiation pressure of an intense laser. Recent LPA experiments are presented which have greatly improved beam quality and efficiency, rendering them appropriate for compact high-quality photon sources based on Thomson scattering. Designs for MeV photon sources utilizing the unique properties of LPAs are presented. It is shown that control of the scattering laser, including plasma guiding, can increase photon production efficiency. This reduces scattering laser size and/or electron beam current requirements to scale compatible with the LPA. Lastly, the plasma structure can decelerate the electron beam after photon production, reducing the size of shielding required for beam disposal. Together, these techniques provide a path to a compact photon source system.

Cumulative percent energy deposition of photon beam incident on different targets, simulated by Monte Carlo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandic, A.; Jevremovic, T.; Boreli, F.

1989-01-01

Monte Carlo simulation (without secondary radiation) of the standard photon interactions (Compton scattering, photoelectric absorption and pair protection) for the complex slab's geometry is used in numerical code ACCA. A typical ACCA run will yield: (a) transmission of primary photon radiation differential in energy, (b) the spectrum of energy deposited in the target as a function of position and (c) the cumulative percent energy deposition as a function of position. A cumulative percent energy deposition of photon monoenergetic beam incident on simplest and complexity tissue slab and Fe slab are presented in this paper. (author). 5 refs.; 2 figs

The FERMI@Elettra free-electron-laser source for coherent X-ray physics: photon properties, beam transport system, and applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allaria, Enrico; Callegari, Carlo; Cocco, Daniele; Fawley, William M.; Kiskinova, Maya; Masciovecchio, Claudio; Parmigiani, Fulvio

2010-04-05

FERMI@Elettra is comprised of two free electron lasers (FELs) that will generate short pulses (tau ~;; 25 to 200 fs) of highly coherent radiation in the XUV and soft X-ray region. The use of external laser seeding together with a harmonic upshift scheme to obtain short wavelengths will give FERMI@Elettra the capability to produce high quality, longitudinal coherent photon pulses. This capability together with the possibilities of temporal synchronization to external lasers and control of the output photon polarization will open new experimental opportunities not possible with currently available FELs. Here we report on the predicted radiation coherence properties and important configuration details of the photon beam transport system. We discuss the several experimental stations that will be available during initial operations in 2011, and we give a scientific perspective on possible experiments that can exploit the critical parameters of this new light source.

Improved Light Extraction Efficiency by Photonic Crystal Arrays on Transparent Contact Layer Using Focused Ion Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, G.M.; Tsai, B.H.; Kung, S.F.; Wu, C.F.

2011-01-01

Nitride-based thin-film materials have become increasingly important for the high brightness light-emitting diode applications. The improvements in light extraction and lower power consumption are highly desired. Although the internal quantum efficiency of GaN-based LED has been relatively high, only a small fraction of light can be extracted. In this study, a new design of two-dimensional photonic crystal array has been prepared on the top transparent contact layer of indium-tin oxide film to improve the light extraction efficiency using focused ion beam. The acceleration voltage of the Ga dual-beam nanotechnology system SMI 3050 was 30 kV and the ion beam current was 100 pA. The cylindrical air holes had the diameter of 150 nm and depth of 100 nm. The micro photoluminescence analysis results showed that the light output intensity could be 1.5 times of that of the non-patterned control sample. In addition, the structural damage from the focused ion beam drilling of GaN step could be eliminated. The excellent I-V characteristics have been maintained, and the external light extraction efficiency would be still improved for the LED devices. (author)

Polarized photons from a silicon crystal in a 31 GeV electron beam at the Serpukhov proton accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frolov, A.M.; Maisheev, V.A.; Arakelyan, E.A.; Armaganyan, A.A.; Avakyan, R.O.; Bayatyan, G.L.; Grigoryan, N.K.; Kechechyan, A.O.; Knyazyan, S.G.; Margaryan, A.T.

1980-01-01

Tagged photons coherently emitted in a silicon crystal by the 31 GeV electron beam of intensity 4 x 10 4 ppp and beam pulse duration of up to 1.7 s have been obtained at the Serpukhov proton accelerator. The photon intensities were I approx. 10 -1 - 10 -2 γ/e - in five almost equal energy bins within the total range k = (8.2-24.2) GeV. The calculated linear polarizations were P approx. 50-20%, respectively. Narrow peaks in the radiation intensity were observed when varying the orientation of a silicon crystal which could not be explained. The method for the experimental alignment of a crystal in electron beams at the proton accelerator has been described. (orig.)

TH-CD-201-06: Experimental Characterization of Acoustic Signals Generated in Water Following Clinical Photon and Electron Beam Irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickling, S; El Naqa, I

2016-01-01

Purpose: Previous work has demonstrated the detectability of acoustic waves induced following the irradiation of high density metals with radiotherapy linac photon beams. This work demonstrates the ability to experimentally detect such acoustic signals following both photon and electron irradiation in a more radiotherapy relevant material. The relationship between induced acoustic signal properties in water and the deposited dose distribution is explored, and the feasibility of exploiting such signals for radiotherapy dosimetry is demonstrated. Methods: Acoustic waves were experimentally induced in a water tank via the thermoacoustic effect following a single pulse of photon or electron irradiation produced by a clinical linac. An immersion ultrasound transducer was used to detect these acoustic waves in water and signals were read out on an oscilloscope. Results: Peaks and troughs in the detected acoustic signals were found to correspond to the location of gradients in the deposited dose distribution following both photon and electron irradiation. Signal amplitude was linearly related to the dose per pulse deposited by photon or electron beams at the depth of detection. Flattening filter free beams induced large acoustic signals, and signal amplitude decreased with depth after the depth of maximum dose. Varying the field size resulted in a temporal shift of the acoustic signal peaks and a change in the detected signal frequency. Conclusion: Acoustic waves can be detected in a water tank following irradiation by linac photon and electron beams with basic electronics, and have characteristics related to the deposited dose distribution. The physical location of dose gradients and the amount of dose deposited can be inferred from the location and magnitude of acoustic signal peaks. Thus, the detection of induced acoustic waves could be applied to photon and electron water tank and in vivo dosimetry. This work was supported in part by CIHR grants MOP-114910 and MOP

A high-speed tunable beam splitter for feed-forward photonic quantum information processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Xiao-Song; Zotter, Stefan; Tetik, Nuray; Qarry, Angie; Jennewein, Thomas; Zeilinger, Anton

2011-11-07

We realize quantum gates for path qubits with a high-speed, polarization-independent and tunable beam splitter. Two electro-optical modulators act in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer as high-speed phase shifters and rapidly tune its splitting ratio. We test its performance with heralded single photons, observing a polarization-independent interference contrast above 95%. The switching time is about 5.6 ns, and a maximal repetition rate is 2.5 MHz. We demonstrate tunable feed-forward operations of a single-qubit gate of path-encoded qubits and a two-qubit gate via measurement-induced interaction between two photons.

Charged-particle beam diagnostics for the Advanced Photon Source (APS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lumpkin, A.H.; Decker, G.; Kahana, E.; Patterson, D.; Sellyey, W.; Wang, X.; Chung, Y.

1992-01-01

Plans, prototypes, and initial test results for the charged-particle beam (e - , e + ) diagnostic systems on the injector rings, their transport lines, and the storage ring for the Advanced Photon Source (APS) are presented. The APS will be a synchrotron radiation user facility with one of the world's brightest x-ray sources in the 10-keV to 100-keV regime. Its 200-MeV electron linac, 450-MeV positron linac, positron accumulator ring, 7-GeV booster synchrotron, 7-GeV storage ring, and undulator test lines will also demand the development and demonstration of key particle-beam characterization techniques over a wide range of parameter space. Some of these parameter values overlap or approach those projected for fourth generation light sources (linac-driven FELs and high brightness storage rings) as described at a recent workshop. Initial results from the diagnostics prototypes on the linac test stand operating at 45-MeV include current monitor data, beam loss monitor data, and video digitization using VME architecture

Compact beam splitters with deep gratings for miniature photonic integrated circuits: design and implementation aspects.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chin-Hui; Klamkin, Jonathan; Nicholes, Steven C; Johansson, Leif A; Bowers, John E; Coldren, Larry A

2009-09-01

We present an extensive study of an ultracompact grating-based beam splitter suitable for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) that have stringent density requirements. The 10 microm long beam splitter exhibits equal splitting, low insertion loss, and also provides a high extinction ratio in an integrated coherent balanced receiver. We further present the design strategies for avoiding mode distortion in the beam splitter and discuss optimization of the widths of the detectors to improve insertion loss and extinction ratio of the coherent receiver circuit. In our study, we show that the grating-based beam splitter is a competitive technology having low fabrication complexity for ultracompact PICs.

Automated Sample Exchange Robots for the Structural Biology Beam Lines at the Photon Factory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiraki, Masahiko; Watanabe, Shokei; Yamada, Yusuke; Matsugaki, Naohiro; Igarashi, Noriyuki; Gaponov, Yurii; Wakatsuki, Soichi

2007-01-01

We are now developing automated sample exchange robots for high-throughput protein crystallographic experiments for onsite use at synchrotron beam lines. It is part of the fully automated robotics systems being developed at the Photon Factory, for the purposes of protein crystallization, monitoring crystal growth, harvesting and freezing crystals, mounting the crystals inside a hutch and for data collection. We have already installed the sample exchange robots based on the SSRL automated mounting system at our insertion device beam lines BL-5A and AR-NW12A at the Photon Factory. In order to reduce the time required for sample exchange further, a prototype of a double-tonged system was developed. As a result of preliminary experiments with double-tonged robots, the sample exchange time was successfully reduced from 70 seconds to 10 seconds with the exception of the time required for pre-cooling and warming up the tongs

SU-F-T-485: Independent Remote Audits for TG51 NonCompliant Photon Beams Performed by the IROC Houston QA Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez, P; Molineu, A; Lowenstein, J; Taylor, P; Kry, S; Followill, D [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: IROC-H conducts external audits for output check verification of photon and electron beams. Many of these beams can meet the geometric requirements of the TG 51 calibration protocol. For those photon beams that are non TG 51 compliant like Elekta GammaKnife, Accuray CyberKnife and TomoTherapy, IROC-H has specific audit tools to monitor the reference calibration. Methods: IROC-H used its TLD and OSLD remote monitoring systems to verify the output of machines with TG 51 non compliant beams. Acrylic OSLD miniphantoms are used for the CyberKnife. Special TLD phantoms are used for TomoTherapy and GammaKnife machines to accommodate the specific geometry of each machine. These remote audit tools are sent to institutions to be irradiated and returned to IROC-H for analysis. Results: The average IROC-H/institution ratios for 480 GammaKnife, 660 CyberKnife and 907 rotational TomoTherapy beams are 1.000±0.021, 1.008±0.019, 0.974±0.023, respectively. In the particular case of TomoTherapy, the overall ratio is 0.977±0.022 for HD units. The standard deviations of all results are consistent with values determined for TG 51 compliant photon beams. These ratios have shown some changes compared to values presented in 2008. The GammaKnife results were corrected by an experimentally determined scatter factor of 1.025 in 2013. The TomoTherapy helical beam results are now from a rotational beam whereas in 2008 the results were from a static beam. The decision to change modality was based on recommendations from the users. Conclusion: External audits of beam outputs is a valuable tool to confirm the calibrations of photon beams regardless of whether the machine is TG 51 or TG 51 non compliant. The difference found for TomoTherapy units is under investigation. This investigation was supported by IROC grant CA180803 awarded by the NCI.

SU-F-T-485: Independent Remote Audits for TG51 NonCompliant Photon Beams Performed by the IROC Houston QA Center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, P; Molineu, A; Lowenstein, J; Taylor, P; Kry, S; Followill, D

2016-01-01

Purpose: IROC-H conducts external audits for output check verification of photon and electron beams. Many of these beams can meet the geometric requirements of the TG 51 calibration protocol. For those photon beams that are non TG 51 compliant like Elekta GammaKnife, Accuray CyberKnife and TomoTherapy, IROC-H has specific audit tools to monitor the reference calibration. Methods: IROC-H used its TLD and OSLD remote monitoring systems to verify the output of machines with TG 51 non compliant beams. Acrylic OSLD miniphantoms are used for the CyberKnife. Special TLD phantoms are used for TomoTherapy and GammaKnife machines to accommodate the specific geometry of each machine. These remote audit tools are sent to institutions to be irradiated and returned to IROC-H for analysis. Results: The average IROC-H/institution ratios for 480 GammaKnife, 660 CyberKnife and 907 rotational TomoTherapy beams are 1.000±0.021, 1.008±0.019, 0.974±0.023, respectively. In the particular case of TomoTherapy, the overall ratio is 0.977±0.022 for HD units. The standard deviations of all results are consistent with values determined for TG 51 compliant photon beams. These ratios have shown some changes compared to values presented in 2008. The GammaKnife results were corrected by an experimentally determined scatter factor of 1.025 in 2013. The TomoTherapy helical beam results are now from a rotational beam whereas in 2008 the results were from a static beam. The decision to change modality was based on recommendations from the users. Conclusion: External audits of beam outputs is a valuable tool to confirm the calibrations of photon beams regardless of whether the machine is TG 51 or TG 51 non compliant. The difference found for TomoTherapy units is under investigation. This investigation was supported by IROC grant CA180803 awarded by the NCI

Correction of experimental photon pencil-beams for the effects of non-uniform and non-parallel measurement conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceberg, Crister P.; Bjaerngard, Bengt E.

1995-01-01

An approximate experimental determination of photon pencil-beams can be based on the reciprocity theorem. The scatter part of the pencil-beam is then essentially the derivative with respect to the field radius of measured scatter-to-primary ratios in circular fields. Obtained in this way, however, the pencil-beam implicitly carries the influence from the lateral fluence and beam quality variations of the incident photons, as well as the effects of the divergence of the beam. In this work we show how these effects can be corrected for. The procedure was to calculate scatter-to-primary ratios using an analytical expression for the pencil-beam. By disregarding one by one the effects of the divergence and the fluence and beam quality variations, the influence of these effects were separated and quantified. For instance, for a 6 MV beam of 20x20 cm 2 field size, at 20 cm depth and a source distance of 100 cm, the total effect was 3.9%; 2.0% was due to the non-uniform incident profile, 1.0% due to the non-uniform beam quality, and 0.9% due to the divergence of the beam. At a source distance of 400 cm, all these effects were much lower, adding up to a total of 0.3 %. Using calculated correction factors like these, measured scatter-to-primary ratios were then stripped from the effects of non-uniform and non-parallel measurement conditions, and the scatter part of the pencil-beam was determined using the reciprocity theorem without approximations

Monitor unit calculations for external photon and electron beams: Report of the AAPM Therapy Physics Committee Task Group No. 71

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gibbons, John P., E-mail: john.gibbons@marybird.com [Department of Physics, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 (United States); Antolak, John A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905 (United States); Followill, David S. [Department of Radiation Physics, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Huq, M. Saiful [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232 (United States); Klein, Eric E. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 (United States); Lam, Kwok L. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (United States); Palta, Jatinder R. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298 (United States); Roback, Donald M. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Centers of North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 (United States); Reid, Mark [Department of Medical Physics, Fletcher-Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vermont 05401 (United States); Khan, Faiz M. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 (United States)

2014-03-15

A protocol is presented for the calculation of monitor units (MU) for photon and electron beams, delivered with and without beam modifiers, for constant source-surface distance (SSD) and source-axis distance (SAD) setups. This protocol was written by Task Group 71 of the Therapy Physics Committee of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and has been formally approved by the AAPM for clinical use. The protocol defines the nomenclature for the dosimetric quantities used in these calculations, along with instructions for their determination and measurement. Calculations are made using the dose per MU under normalization conditions, D{sub 0}{sup ′}, that is determined for each user's photon and electron beams. For electron beams, the depth of normalization is taken to be the depth of maximum dose along the central axis for the same field incident on a water phantom at the same SSD, where D{sub 0}{sup ′} = 1 cGy/MU. For photon beams, this task group recommends that a normalization depth of 10 cm be selected, where an energy-dependent D{sub 0}{sup ′} ≤ 1 cGy/MU is required. This recommendation differs from the more common approach of a normalization depth of d{sub m}, with D{sub 0}{sup ′} = 1 cGy/MU, although both systems are acceptable within the current protocol. For photon beams, the formalism includes the use of blocked fields, physical or dynamic wedges, and (static) multileaf collimation. No formalism is provided for intensity modulated radiation therapy calculations, although some general considerations and a review of current calculation techniques are included. For electron beams, the formalism provides for calculations at the standard and extended SSDs using either an effective SSD or an air-gap correction factor. Example tables and problems are included to illustrate the basic concepts within the presented formalism.

Dosimetric characteristics of Thermo-Shield material for orthovoltage photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahmaid, Mohammad; Kim, Siyong; Liu, Chihray R.; Palta, Jatinder R.

2003-01-01

Conventionally, lead has been used for field shaping in orthovoltage radiation therapy. Recently, a compensator material named Thermo-Shield was presented for field shaping in electron beams. Thermo-Shield is composed of nontoxic, high atomic weight metal particles dispersed in a thermoplastic matrix. It is manually moldable and conforms to human anatomy or any shape at temperatures of 108-132 degree sign F. It is reusable and can be continuously reshaped to better fit the treatment field. Dosimetric characteristics of thermoplastic material were studied for Philips RT250 orthovoltage photon beams ranging from 75 to 250 kVp. It was found that Thermo-Shield should be four to five times thicker than lead to achieve the same transmission (less than 5%). However, it did not cause significant degradation in penumbra. Clinical procedures for use are discussed

Photonics and electronics for nitrogen vacancy control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaun Ho

2014-01-01

Deterministic indistinguishable single photon sources are one of the key requirements for the realisation of Optical Quantum Computing. Recent low temperature experiments have shown the potential of the negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV-) centre as a source of indistinguishable photons. Furthermore its ground state spin structure with extensional decoherence time and spin dependent transitions means it can be harnessed as a spin-photon interface. However, development of these potential applications requires exquisite control of te electronic and spin states via Stark and Zeeman shifting, as well as enhanced photon collection through photonic structures. Here we present the integration of micro-fabricated solid immersion lenses with lithographically defined gold electrodes for control and spin manipulation. (author)

The effective W boson approximation and heavy Higgs production at a photon-photon collider

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, J.P.

1995-01-01

The inclusive production of single Higgs boson at a photon-phonon collider is studied under the effective W boson approximation. The W boson distribution in a photon is determined. The cross section is much larger than this from the photon-photon fusion and this means that a good opportunity of studying heavy Higgs boson can be provided at NLC, where photon beams may be obtained via Compton-backscattering of laser photons off the initial e + e - beams. 8 refs., 1 fig

Optical characterisation of photonic wire and photonic crystal waveguides fabricated using nanoimprint lithography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borel, Peter Ingo; Frandsen, Lars Hagedorn; Lavrinenko, Andrei

2006-01-01

We have characterised photonic-crystal and photonic-wire waveguides fabricated by thermal nanoimprint lithography. The structures, with feature sizes down below 20 nm, are benchmarked against similar structures defined by direct electron beam lithography.......We have characterised photonic-crystal and photonic-wire waveguides fabricated by thermal nanoimprint lithography. The structures, with feature sizes down below 20 nm, are benchmarked against similar structures defined by direct electron beam lithography....

Single-photon switch: Controllable scattering of photons inside a one-dimensional resonator waveguide

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, L.; Gong, Z. R.; Liu, Y. X.; Sun, C. P.; Nori, F.

2010-03-01

We analyze the coherent transport of a single photon, which propagates in a one-dimensional coupled-resonator waveguide and is scattered by a controllable two-level system located inside one of the resonators of this waveguide. Our approach, which uses discrete coordinates, unifies low and high energy effective theories for single-photon scattering. We show that the controllable two-level system can behave as a quantum switch for the coherent transport of a single photon. This study may inspire new electro-optical single-photon quantum devices. We also suggest an experimental setup based on superconducting transmission line resonators and qubits. References: L. Zhou, Z.R. Gong, Y.X. Liu, C.P. Sun, F. Nori, Controllable scattering of photons inside a one-dimensional resonator waveguide, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 100501 (2008). L. Zhou, H. Dong, Y.X. Liu, C.P. Sun, F. Nori, Quantum super-cavity with atomic mirrors, Phys. Rev. A 78, 063827 (2008).

SU-E-T-577: Commissioning of a Deterministic Algorithm for External Photon Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, T; Finlay, J; Mesina, C; Liu, H

2014-01-01

Purpose: We report commissioning results for a deterministic algorithm for external photon beam treatment planning. A deterministic algorithm solves the radiation transport equations directly using a finite difference method, thus improve the accuracy of dose calculation, particularly under heterogeneous conditions with results similar to that of Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. Methods: Commissioning data for photon energies 6 – 15 MV includes the percentage depth dose (PDD) measured at SSD = 90 cm and output ratio in water (Spc), both normalized to 10 cm depth, for field sizes between 2 and 40 cm and depths between 0 and 40 cm. Off-axis ratio (OAR) for the same set of field sizes was used at 5 depths (dmax, 5, 10, 20, 30 cm). The final model was compared with the commissioning data as well as additional benchmark data. The benchmark data includes dose per MU determined for 17 points for SSD between 80 and 110 cm, depth between 5 and 20 cm, and lateral offset of up to 16.5 cm. Relative comparisons were made in a heterogeneous phantom made of cork and solid water. Results: Compared to the commissioning beam data, the agreement are generally better than 2% with large errors (up to 13%) observed in the buildup regions of the FDD and penumbra regions of the OAR profiles. The overall mean standard deviation is 0.04% when all data are taken into account. Compared to the benchmark data, the agreements are generally better than 2%. Relative comparison in heterogeneous phantom is in general better than 4%. Conclusion: A commercial deterministic algorithm was commissioned for megavoltage photon beams. In a homogeneous medium, the agreement between the algorithm and measurement at the benchmark points is generally better than 2%. The dose accuracy for a deterministic algorithm is better than a convolution algorithm in heterogeneous medium

Ultracompact 1×4 TM-polarized beam splitter based on photonic crystal surface mode.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Bin; Zhang, Yejin; Wang, Yufei; Liu, Anjin; Zheng, Wanhua

2012-05-01

We provide an improved surface-mode photonic crystal (PhC) T-junction waveguide, combine it with an improved PhC bandgap T-junction waveguide, and then provide an ultracompact 1×4 TM-polarized beam splitter. The energy is split equally into the four output waveguides. The maximal transmission ratio of each output waveguide branch equals 24.7%, and the corresponding total transmission ratio of the ultracompact 1×4 beam splitter equals 98.8%. The normalized frequency of maximal transmission ratio is 0.397(2πc/a), and the bandwidth of the ultracompact 1×4 TM-polarized beam splitter is 0.0106(2πc/a). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such a high-efficiency 1×4 beam splitter exploiting the nonradiative surface mode as a guided mode has been proposed. Although we only employed a 1×4 beam splitter, our design can easily be extended to other 1×n beam splitters.

Holographic fabrication of 3D photonic crystals through interference of multi-beams with 4 + 1, 5 + 1 and 6 + 1 configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

George, D; Lutkenhaus, J; Lowell, D; Moazzezi, M; Adewole, M; Philipose, U; Zhang, H; Poole, Z L; Chen, K P; Lin, Y

2014-09-22

In this paper, we are able to fabricate 3D photonic crystals or quasi-crystals through single beam and single optical element based holographic lithography. The reflective optical elements are used to generate multiple side beams with s-polarization and one central beam with circular polarization which in turn are used for interference based holographic lithography without the need of any other bulk optics. These optical elements have been used to fabricate 3D photonic crystals with 4, 5 or 6-fold symmetry. A good agreement has been observed between fabricated holographic structures and simulated interference patterns.

Dosimetric characteristics of a 6 MV photon beam from a linear accelerator with asymmetric collimator jaws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palta, J.R.; Ayyangar, K.M.; Suntharalingam, N.

1988-01-01

Dosimetric measurements have been made of a 6 MV photon beam from a linear accelerator equipped with asymmetric jaws. The field size factors for asymmetrically set fields are compared to those for symmetrically set fields. The change of beam quality has been measured as a function of off-axis position of the asymmetric fields to assess its effect on depth dose. Additional measurements include beam penumbra and shape of isodose curves for open and wedge fields as the field opening is moved asymmetrically from the central ray

Photon reconstruction in the ATLAS inner detector and liquid argon barrel calorimeter at the 2004 combined test beam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abat, E.; et al., [Unknown; Ferrari, P.; Gorfine, G.; Liebig, W.

2011-01-01

The reconstruction of photons in the ATLAS detector is studied with data taken during the 2004 Combined Test Beam, where a full slice of the ATLAS detector was exposed to beams of particles of known energy at the CERN SPS. The results presented show significant differences in the longitudinal

Optical beam induced current measurements based on two-photon absorption process in 4H-SiC bipolar diodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamad, H.; Raynaud, C.; Bevilacqua, P.; Tournier, D.; Planson, D. [Ampère Laboratory - UMR 5005, 21, Avenue Jean Capelle, 69621 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Vergne, B. [Franco-Allemand Institute of Saint-Louis ISL, 5, Rue du Général Cassagnou, 68300 Saint-Louis (France)

2014-02-24

Using a pulsed green laser with a wavelength of 532 nm, a duration pulse of ∼1 ns, and a mean power varying between 1 and 100 mW, induced photocurrents have been measured in 4H-SiC bipolar diodes. Considering the photon energy (2.33 eV) and the bandgap of 4H-SiC (3.2 eV), the generation of electron-hole pair by the conventional single photon absorption process should be negligible. The intensity of the measured photocurrents depends quadratically on the power beam intensity. This clearly shows that they are generated using two-photon absorption process. As in conventional OBIC (Optical Beam Induced Current), the measurements give an image of the electric field distribution in the structure under test, and the minority carrier lifetime can be extracted from the decrease of the photocurrent at the edge of the structure. The extracted minority carrier lifetime of 210 ns is consistent with results obtained in case of single photon absorption.

Optical beam induced current measurements based on two-photon absorption process in 4H-SiC bipolar diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamad, H.; Raynaud, C.; Bevilacqua, P.; Tournier, D.; Planson, D.; Vergne, B.

2014-01-01

Using a pulsed green laser with a wavelength of 532 nm, a duration pulse of ∼1 ns, and a mean power varying between 1 and 100 mW, induced photocurrents have been measured in 4H-SiC bipolar diodes. Considering the photon energy (2.33 eV) and the bandgap of 4H-SiC (3.2 eV), the generation of electron-hole pair by the conventional single photon absorption process should be negligible. The intensity of the measured photocurrents depends quadratically on the power beam intensity. This clearly shows that they are generated using two-photon absorption process. As in conventional OBIC (Optical Beam Induced Current), the measurements give an image of the electric field distribution in the structure under test, and the minority carrier lifetime can be extracted from the decrease of the photocurrent at the edge of the structure. The extracted minority carrier lifetime of 210 ns is consistent with results obtained in case of single photon absorption

Ralicon anodes for image photon counting fabricated by electron beam lithography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burton, W.M.

1982-01-01

The Anger wedge and strip anode event location system developed for microchannel plate image photon detectors at the Space Sciences Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley, has been extended in the present work by the use of electron beam lithography (EBL). This method of fabrication can be used to produce optical patterns for the subsequent manufacture of anodes by conventional photo-etching methods and has also enabled anodes to be produced directly by EBL microfabrication techniques. Computer-aided design methods have been used to develop several types of RALICON (Readout Anodes of Lithographic Construction) for use in photon counting microchannel plate imaging detectors. These anodes are suitable for linear, two dimensional or radial position measurements and they incorporate novel design features made possible by the EBL fabrication technique which significantly extend their application relative to published wedge-strip anode designs. (author)

Cone beam tomography of the heart using single-photon emission-computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gullberg, G.T.; Christian, P.E.; Zeng, G.L.; Datz, F.L.; Morgan, H.T.

1991-01-01

The authors evaluated cone beam single-photon emission-computed tomography (SPECT) of the heart. A new cone beam reconstruction algorithm was used to reconstruct data collected from short scan acquisitions (of slightly more than 180 degrees) of a detector anteriorally traversing a noncircular orbit. The less than 360 degrees acquisition was used to minimize the attenuation artifacts that result from reconstructing posterior projections of 201T1 emissions from the heart. The algorithm includes a new method for reconstructing truncated projections of background tissue activity that eliminates reconstruction ring artifacts. Phantom and patient results are presented which compare a high-resolution cone beam collimator (50-cm focal length; 6.0-mm full width at half maximum [FWHM] at 10 cm) to a low-energy general purpose (LEGP) parallel hole collimator (8.2-mm FWHM at 10 cm) which is 1.33 times more sensitive. The cone beam tomographic results are free of reconstruction artifacts and show improved spatial and contrast resolution over that obtained with the LEGP parallel hole collimator. The limited angular sampling restrictions and truncation problems associated with cone beam tomography do not deter from obtaining diagnostic information. However, even though these preliminary results are encouraging, a thorough clinical study is still needed to investigate the specificity and sensitivity of cone beam tomography

Effect of photon-beam energy on VMAT and IMRT treatment plan quality and dosimetric accuracy for advanced prostate cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pasler, Marlies; Wirtz, Holger; Lutterbach, Johannes [Lake Constance Radiation Oncology Center Singen-Friedrichshafen, Singen (Germany); Georg, Dietmar [Medical Univ. Vienna (Austria). Dept. of Radiotherapy

2011-12-15

The goal of the research was to evaluate treatment plan quality and dosimetric accuracy of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plans using 6, 10, and 15 MV photon beams for prostate cancer including lymph nodes. In this retrospective study, VMAT and IMRT plans were generated with the Pinnacle {sup copyright} treatment planning system (TPS) (V9.0) for 10 prostate cancer cases. Each plan consisted of two target volumes: PTV{sub B} included the prostate bed, PTV{sub PC+LN} contained PTV{sub B} and lymph nodes. For plan evaluation statistics, the homogeneity index, conformity index, mean doses, and near-max doses to organs at risk (OAR) were analyzed. Treatment time and number of monitor units were assessed to compare delivery efficiency. Dosimetric plan verification was performed with a 2D ionization chamber array placed in a full scatter phantom. Results: No differences were found for target and OAR parameters in low and high energy photon beam plans for both VMAT and IMRT. A slightly higher low dose volume was detected for 6 MV VMAT plans (normal tissue: D{sub mean} = 16.47 Gy) compared to 10 and 15 MV VMAT plans (D{sub mean} = 15.90 Gy and 15.74 Gy, respectively), similar to the findings in IMRT. In VMAT, > 96% of detector points passed the 3%/ 3 mm {gamma} criterion; marginally better accuracy was found in IMRT (> 97%). Conclusion: For static and rotational IMRT, 15 MV photons did not show advantages over 6 and 10 MV high energy photon beams in large volume pelvic plans. For the investigated TPS and linac combination, 10 MV photon beams can be used as the general purpose energy for intensity modulation.

A method for photon beam Monte Carlo multileaf collimator particle transport

Science.gov (United States)

Siebers, Jeffrey V.; Keall, Paul J.; Kim, Jong Oh; Mohan, Radhe

2002-09-01

Monte Carlo (MC) algorithms are recognized as the most accurate methodology for patient dose assessment. For intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) delivered with dynamic multileaf collimators (DMLCs), accurate dose calculation, even with MC, is challenging. Accurate IMRT MC dose calculations require inclusion of the moving MLC in the MC simulation. Due to its complex geometry, full transport through the MLC can be time consuming. The aim of this work was to develop an MLC model for photon beam MC IMRT dose computations. The basis of the MC MLC model is that the complex MLC geometry can be separated into simple geometric regions, each of which readily lends itself to simplified radiation transport. For photons, only attenuation and first Compton scatter interactions are considered. The amount of attenuation material an individual particle encounters while traversing the entire MLC is determined by adding the individual amounts from each of the simplified geometric regions. Compton scatter is sampled based upon the total thickness traversed. Pair production and electron interactions (scattering and bremsstrahlung) within the MLC are ignored. The MLC model was tested for 6 MV and 18 MV photon beams by comparing it with measurements and MC simulations that incorporate the full physics and geometry for fields blocked by the MLC and with measurements for fields with the maximum possible tongue-and-groove and tongue-or-groove effects, for static test cases and for sliding windows of various widths. The MLC model predicts the field size dependence of the MLC leakage radiation within 0.1% of the open-field dose. The entrance dose and beam hardening behind a closed MLC are predicted within +/-1% or 1 mm. Dose undulations due to differences in inter- and intra-leaf leakage are also correctly predicted. The MC MLC model predicts leaf-edge tongue-and-groove dose effect within +/-1% or 1 mm for 95% of the points compared at 6 MV and 88% of the points compared at 18 MV

A method for photon beam Monte Carlo multileaf collimator particle transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siebers, Jeffrey V. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States)]. E-mail: jsiebers@vcu.edu; Keall, Paul J.; Kim, Jong Oh; Mohan, Radhe [Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States)

2002-09-07

Monte Carlo (MC) algorithms are recognized as the most accurate methodology for patient dose assessment. For intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) delivered with dynamic multileaf collimators (DMLCs), accurate dose calculation, even with MC, is challenging. Accurate IMRT MC dose calculations require inclusion of the moving MLC in the MC simulation. Due to its complex geometry, full transport through the MLC can be time consuming. The aim of this work was to develop an MLC model for photon beam MC IMRT dose computations. The basis of the MC MLC model is that the complex MLC geometry can be separated into simple geometric regions, each of which readily lends itself to simplified radiation transport. For photons, only attenuation and first Compton scatter interactions are considered. The amount of attenuation material an individual particle encounters while traversing the entire MLC is determined by adding the individual amounts from each of the simplified geometric regions. Compton scatter is sampled based upon the total thickness traversed. Pair production and electron interactions (scattering and bremsstrahlung) within the MLC are ignored. The MLC model was tested for 6 MV and 18 MV photon beams by comparing it with measurements and MC simulations that incorporate the full physics and geometry for fields blocked by the MLC and with measurements for fields with the maximum possible tongue-and-groove and tongue-or-groove effects, for static test cases and for sliding windows of various widths. The MLC model predicts the field size dependence of the MLC leakage radiation within 0.1% of the open-field dose. The entrance dose and beam hardening behind a closed MLC are predicted within {+-}1% or 1 mm. Dose undulations due to differences in inter- and intra-leaf leakage are also correctly predicted. The MC MLC model predicts leaf-edge tongue-and-groove dose effect within {+-}1% or 1 mm for 95% of the points compared at 6 MV and 88% of the points compared at 18 MV

Radiative corrections to the beam spin asymmetry in photon electroproduction e polarized p {yields} ep{gamma}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fonvieille, H.; Bensafa, I. [LPC-Clermont-Fd, Universite Blaise Pascal, F-63170 Aubiere Cedex (France)

2006-11-15

We have measured at MAMI the beam single spin asymmetry (SSA) in exclusive photon electroproduction (e polarized p {yields} ep{gamma}) with a longitudinally polarized beam, in the region of the {delta}(1232) resonance. In this document the value of the radiative correction to this asymmetry is obtained for our kinematics. Although the correction is expected to be very small and negligible, its value is needed as a confirmation and for the purpose of systematic error estimate. The parameter of kinematics are given as follows: four-momentum transfer of the virtual photon, Q{sup 2} = 0.35 GeV{sup 2}; total energy in the ({gamma}p) center of mass, W=1.190 GeV; polarization of the virtual photon, {epsilon}=0.48; azimuthal angle (lepton-hadron planes), {phi} = 220 angle; polar angle of Compton scattering in center of mass, {theta}{sub {gamma}}{sub {gamma}} in [0 angle, 40 angle]; incoming electron beam energy, E{sub e} = 0.88 GeV; scattered electron energy, E{sub 0}' = 0.40 GeV; polar angle of scattered electron {theta}{sub e} = 59.9 angle. The radiative correction is calculated by the radcorr code written by M. Vanderhaeghen, in a version adapted to beam spin asymmetries.In practice, the conclusions are twofold: - the asymmetry that was measured in the VCS channel does not need to be corrected for radiative effects, given the large statistical error bar attached to the experimental values (an asymmetry of 1-10 % with a statistical error bar of 3-4 %); - a systematic error {delta}SSA{sub syst} on the asymmetry will be considered, related to uncertainties in the calculation of the radiative correction (at least two of them have been mentioned here: the cross section model and the soft photon limit). To estimate this error a 100 % variation of the radiative correction was assumed. For the radiative correction itself the maximal value found was taken. Therefore one can take: {delta}SSA{sub syst} = {+-}2.7 x 10{sup -3}.

Radiative corrections to the beam spin asymmetry in photon electroproduction e polarized p → epγ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonvieille, H.; Bensafa, I.

2006-11-01

We have measured at MAMI the beam single spin asymmetry (SSA) in exclusive photon electroproduction (e polarized p → epγ) with a longitudinally polarized beam, in the region of the Δ(1232) resonance. In this document the value of the radiative correction to this asymmetry is obtained for our kinematics. Although the correction is expected to be very small and negligible, its value is needed as a confirmation and for the purpose of systematic error estimate. The parameter of kinematics are given as follows: four-momentum transfer of the virtual photon, Q 2 = 0.35 GeV 2 ; total energy in the (γp) center of mass, W=1.190 GeV; polarization of the virtual photon, ε=0.48; azimuthal angle (lepton-hadron planes), φ = 220 angle; polar angle of Compton scattering in center of mass, θ γγ in [0 angle, 40 angle]; incoming electron beam energy, E e = 0.88 GeV; scattered electron energy, E 0 ' = 0.40 GeV; polar angle of scattered electron θ e = 59.9 angle. The radiative correction is calculated by the radcorr code written by M. Vanderhaeghen, in a version adapted to beam spin asymmetries.In practice, the conclusions are twofold: - the asymmetry that was measured in the VCS channel does not need to be corrected for radiative effects, given the large statistical error bar attached to the experimental values (an asymmetry of 1-10 % with a statistical error bar of 3-4 %); - a systematic error ΔSSA syst on the asymmetry will be considered, related to uncertainties in the calculation of the radiative correction (at least two of them have been mentioned here: the cross section model and the soft photon limit). To estimate this error a 100 % variation of the radiative correction was assumed. For the radiative correction itself the maximal value found was taken. Therefore one can take: ΔSSA syst = ±2.7 x 10 -3

Physics of the Brain: Interaction of the Optical-Fiber-Guided Multi-Ultraviolet-Photon Beams with the Epilepsy Topion, (the Seizure Onset Area)

Science.gov (United States)

Stefan, V. Alexander

A novel method for the possible prevention of epileptic seizures is proposed, based on the multi-ultraviolet-photon beam interaction with the epilepsy topion, (nonlinear coupling of an ultra high frequency mode to the brain beta phonons). It is hypothesized that epilepsy is a chaotic-dynamics phenomenon: small electrical changes in the epilepsy-topion lead, (within the 10s of milliseconds), to the onset of chaos, (seizure--excessive electrical discharge), and subsequent cascading into adjacent areas. The ultraviolet photons may control the imbalance of sodium and potassium ions and, consequently, may prove to be efficient in the prevention of epileptic seizures. Supported by Nikola Tesla Labs, Stefan University.

Characterization and control of femtosecond electron and X-ray beams at free-electron lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behrens, Christopher

2012-11-01

X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) open up new frontiers in photon science, and in order to take full advantage of these unique accelerator-based light sources, the characterization and control of the femtosecond electron and X-ray beams is essential. Within this cumulative thesis, recent results achieved within the active research field of femtosecond electron and X-ray beams at FELs are reported.The basic principles of X-ray FELs are described, and concepts of longitudinal electron beam diagnostics with femtosecond accuracy are covered. Experimental results obtained with a transverse deflecting structure (TDS) and spectroscopy of coherent terahertz radiation are presented, and the suppression of coherent optical radiation effects, required for diagnostics utilizing a TDS, is demonstrated. Control of the longitudinal phase space by using multiple radio frequencies for longitudinal electron beam tailoring is presented, and a new technique of reversible electron beam heating with two TDSs is described. For the characterization of femtosecond X-ray pulses, a novel method based on dedicated longitudinal phase space diagnostics for electron beams is introduced, and recent measurements with a streaking technique using external terahertz fields are presented.

Characterization and control of femtosecond electron and X-ray beams at free-electron lasers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Behrens, Christopher

2012-11-15

X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) open up new frontiers in photon science, and in order to take full advantage of these unique accelerator-based light sources, the characterization and control of the femtosecond electron and X-ray beams is essential. Within this cumulative thesis, recent results achieved within the active research field of femtosecond electron and X-ray beams at FELs are reported.The basic principles of X-ray FELs are described, and concepts of longitudinal electron beam diagnostics with femtosecond accuracy are covered. Experimental results obtained with a transverse deflecting structure (TDS) and spectroscopy of coherent terahertz radiation are presented, and the suppression of coherent optical radiation effects, required for diagnostics utilizing a TDS, is demonstrated. Control of the longitudinal phase space by using multiple radio frequencies for longitudinal electron beam tailoring is presented, and a new technique of reversible electron beam heating with two TDSs is described. For the characterization of femtosecond X-ray pulses, a novel method based on dedicated longitudinal phase space diagnostics for electron beams is introduced, and recent measurements with a streaking technique using external terahertz fields are presented.

Resolution and drift measurements on the Advanced Photon Source beam position monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.; Kahana, E.

1994-01-01

The resolution and long-term drift of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) beam position monitor (BPM) electronics were measured using the charged particle beams in the ESRF storage ring with various beam current and configurations (single bunch, 8 and 16 equally spaced bunches, and 1/3-fill). The energy of the stored electrons was 6 GeV. The integrated BPM electronics system as used for this work is capable of measuring the beam position on a turn-by-turn basis, which can be accumulated for N turns (N = 2 n , n = 1, 2, ... , 11). Estimation of the BPM resolution apart from the low-frequency beam motion was made by measuring the standard deviation in the measured beam position with different Ns. The analysis of the results indicates a BPM resolution of 18/√ N [μm] for the APS storage ring, which is equivalent to 0.07 μm/√Hz. For the miniature insertion device BPM with 2.8 times higher sensitivity, the resolution will be 0.02 μm/√Hz. The long-term drift of the BPM electronics independent of the actual beam motion was measured at 2 μm/hr, which settled after approximately 1.5 hours. This drift can be attributed mainly to the temperature effect. Comparison of the results with the laboratory measurements shows good agreement. Implication of the BPM resolution limit on the proposed global and local beam position feedback systems for the APS storage ring will also be discussed

CHARACTERIZATION OF GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS USING ION AND PHOTON BEAMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TOROK, SZ.B.; JONES, K.W.; TUNIZ, C.

1998-01-01

Geological specimens are often complex materials that require different analytical methods for their characterization. The parameters of interest may include the chemical composition of major, minor and trace elements. The chemical compounds incorporated in the minerals, the crystal structure and isotopic composition need to be considered. Specimens may be highly heterogeneous thus necessitating analytical methods capable of measurements on small sample volumes with high spatial resolution and sensitivity. Much essential information on geological materials can be obtained by using ion or photon beams. In this chapter we describe the principal analytical techniques based on particle accelerators, showing some applications that are hardly possible with conventional methods. In particular, the following techniques will be discussed: (1) Synchrotron radiation (SR) induced X-ray emission (SRIXE) and particle-induced X-ray emission (PEE) and other ion beam techniques for trace element analysis. (2) Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for ultra sensitive analysis of stable nuclides and long-lived radionuclides. In most of the cases also the possibilities of elemental and isotopic analysis with high resolution will be discussed

Controlling spontaneous emission of light by photonic crystals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lodahl, Peter

2005-01-01

Photonic bandgap crystals were proposed almost two decades ago as a unique tool for controlling propagation and emission of light. Since then the research field of photonic crystals has exploded and many beautiful demonstrations of the use of photonic crystals and fibers for molding light...... propagation have appeared that hold great promises for integrated optics. These major achievements solidly demonstrate the ability to control propagation of light. In contrast, an experimental demonstration of the use of photonic crystals for timing the emission of light has so far lacked. In a recent...... publication in Nature, we have demonstrated experimentally that both the direction and time of spontaneous emission can be controlled, thereby confirming the original proposal by Eli Yablonovich that founded the field of photonic crystals. We believe that this work opens new opportunities for solid...

Correlation of photon beam motion with vacuum chamber cooling on the NSLS x-ray ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, E.D.; Fauchet, A.M.; Zhang, Xiaohao.

1991-01-01

The NSLS X-ray ring exhibits a direct correlation between photon beam motion, and distortion of the ring vacuum chamber induced by fluctuations in the cooling system. We have made long term measurements of photon beam vertical position, accelerator vacuum chamber motion, process water temperatures, and angular motions of the magnets around one superperiod of the NSLS x-ray ring. Short term transients in water temperature cause deflection of the ring vacuum chamber which have in turn been shown to induce very small angular rotations of the magnets, on the order of 10 micro-radians. A larger and more difficult to correct effect is the drift in beam position over the course of a fill. This problem has been shown to be related to the thermal gradients that develop across the vacuum chamber which, as a consequence of the configuration of the chamber cooling, depend upon stored current. Orbit simulations based upon the measured rotations are in agreement with the observed beam motions, and reveal that certain patterns of correlated motions of the magnets can produce much larger errors than random motion or concerted motion of all the magnets. During the course of these measurements global orbit feedback was installed, and found to significantly reduce the orbit errors which could not be corrected at their source

Investigation of percentage depth dose and dose rate dependence of PAGAT polymer gel dosimeter for photon beams using MRI technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azadbakht, B.; Hadad, K.; Zahmatkesh, M. H.

2010-01-01

In this work, the investigation of the normoxic Pagan polymer-gel dosimeter percentage depth dose and it's dose rate dependence has been made. Using MRI, the formulation to give the maximum change in the transverse relaxation rate R2 was determined to be 4.5% N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide(bis), 4.5% acrylamide, 5% gelatine, 5 m M tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosphonium chloride, 0.01 m M hydroquinone and 86% HPLC(Water). Irradiation of vials was performed using photon beams of Co-60 therapy unit and an Elec ta linear accelerator. Gel dosimeters were imaged in a Siemens Symphony 1.5 Tesla clinical MRI scanner using a head coil. Post-manufacture irradiation and post imaging times were both selected to be 1 day. For determining the percentage depth dose of the Pagan gel it was found that at the depth of 21 cm, the percentage depth dose for 1.25 MeV γ-ray photons of 60 Co and for 4,6 and 18 MV x-ray photons of Elec ta linear accelerator, are 48%, 52%, 57.3% and 59.73%, respectively. Thus, in the case of the higher energy photon beams, a higher dose can he delivered. to deep-seated tumors. The dose rate dependence of percentage depth dose was studied for 6 MV x-ray photons with the use of dose rates of 80, 160, 240, 320, 400 and 480 c Gy/min. No trend in polymer-gel dosimeter 1/T 2 dependence was found on the mean dose rate and energy for the photon beams.

Evaluation of the effect of tooth and dental restoration material on electron dose distribution and production of photon contamination in electron beam radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahreyni Toossi, Mohammad Taghi; Ghorbani, Mahdi; Akbari, Fatemeh; Mehrpouyan, Mohammad; Sobhkhiz Sabet, Leila

2016-03-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of tooth and dental restoration materials on electron dose distribution and photon contamination production in electron beams of a medical linac. This evaluation was performed on 8, 12 and 14 MeV electron beams of a Siemens Primus linac. MCNPX Monte Carlo code was utilized and a 10 × 10 cm(2) applicator was simulated in the cases of tooth and combinations of tooth and Ceramco C3 ceramic veneer, tooth and Eclipse alloy and tooth and amalgam restoration materials in a soft tissue phantom. The relative electron and photon contamination doses were calculated for these materials. The presence of tooth and dental restoration material changed the electron dose distribution and photon contamination in phantom, depending on the type of the restoration material and electron beam's energy. The maximum relative electron dose was 1.07 in the presence of tooth including amalgam for 14 MeV electron beam. When 100.00 cGy was prescribed for the reference point, the maximum absolute electron dose was 105.10 cGy in the presence of amalgam for 12 MeV electron beam and the maximum absolute photon contamination dose was 376.67 μGy for tooth in 14 MeV electron beam. The change in electron dose distribution should be considered in treatment planning, when teeth are irradiated in electron beam radiotherapy. If treatment planning can be performed in such a way that the teeth are excluded from primary irradiation, the potential errors in dose delivery to the tumour and normal tissues can be avoided.

Photon-assisted Beam Probes for Low Temperature Plasmas and Installation of Neutral Beam Probe in Helimak

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia de Gorordo, Alvaro; Hallock, Gary A.; Kandadai, Nirmala

2008-11-01

The Heavy Ion Beam Probe (HIBP) diagnostic has successfully measured the electric potential in a number of major plasma devices in the fusion community. In contrast to a Langmuir probe, the HIBP measures the exact electric potential rather than the floating potential. It is also has the advantage of being a very nonperturbing diagnostic. We propose a new photon-assisted beam probe technique that would extend the HIBP type of diagnostics into the low temperature plasma regime. We expect this method to probe plasmas colder than 10 eV. The novelty of the proposed diagnostic is a VUV laser that ionizes the probing particle. Excimer lasers produce the pulsed VUV radiation needed. The lasers on the market don't have a short enough wavelength too ionize any ion directly and so we calculate the population density of excited states in a NLTE plasma. These new photo-ionization techniques can take an instantaneous one-dimensional potential measurement of a plasma and are ideal for nonmagnitized plasmas where continuous time resolution is not required. Also the status of the Neutral Beam Probe installation on the Helimak experiment will be presented.

Magnetic field influences on the lateral dose response functions of photon-beam detectors: MC study of wall-less water-filled detectors with various densities.

Science.gov (United States)

Looe, Hui Khee; Delfs, Björn; Poppinga, Daniela; Harder, Dietrich; Poppe, Björn

2017-06-21

The distortion of detector reading profiles across photon beams in the presence of magnetic fields is a developing subject of clinical photon-beam dosimetry. The underlying modification by the Lorentz force of a detector's lateral dose response function-the convolution kernel transforming the true cross-beam dose profile in water into the detector reading profile-is here studied for the first time. The three basic convolution kernels, the photon fluence response function, the dose deposition kernel, and the lateral dose response function, of wall-less cylindrical detectors filled with water of low, normal and enhanced density are shown by Monte Carlo simulation to be distorted in the prevailing direction of the Lorentz force. The asymmetric shape changes of these convolution kernels in a water medium and in magnetic fields of up to 1.5 T are confined to the lower millimetre range, and they depend on the photon beam quality, the magnetic flux density and the detector's density. The impact of this distortion on detector reading profiles is demonstrated using a narrow photon beam profile. For clinical applications it appears as favourable that the magnetic flux density dependent distortion of the lateral dose response function, as far as secondary electron transport is concerned, vanishes in the case of water-equivalent detectors of normal water density. By means of secondary electron history backtracing, the spatial distribution of the photon interactions giving rise either directly to secondary electrons or to scattered photons further downstream producing secondary electrons which contribute to the detector's signal, and their lateral shift due to the Lorentz force is elucidated. Electron history backtracing also serves to illustrate the correct treatment of the influences of the Lorentz force in the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code applied in this study.

Absorbed-dose beam quality conversion factors for cylindrical chambers in high energy photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Seuntjens, J P; Ross, C K; Shortt, K R; Rogers, D W

2000-12-01

Recent working groups of the AAPM [Almond et al., Med. Phys. 26, 1847 (1999)] and the IAEA (Andreo et al., Draft V.7 of "An International Code of Practice for Dosimetry based on Standards of Absorbed Dose to Water," IAEA, 2000) have described guidelines to base reference dosimetry of high energy photon beams on absorbed dose to water standards. In these protocols use is made of the absorbed-dose beam quality conversion factor, kQ which scales an absorbed-dose calibration factor at the reference quality 60Co to a quality Q, and which is calculated based on state-of-the-art ion chamber theory and data. In this paper we present the measurement and analysis of beam quality conversion factors kQ for cylindrical chambers in high-energy photon beams. At least three chambers of six different types were calibrated against the Canadian primary standard for absorbed dose based on a sealed water calorimeter at 60Co [TPR10(20)=0.572, %dd(10)x=58.4], 10 MV [TPR10(20)=0.682, %dd(10)x=69.6), 20 MV (TPR10(20)=0.758, %dd(10)x= 80.5] and 30 MV [TPR10(20) = 0.794, %dd(10)x= 88.4]. The uncertainty on the calorimetric determination of kQ for a single chamber is typically 0.36% and the overall 1sigma uncertainty on a set of chambers of the same type is typically 0.45%. The maximum deviation between a measured kQ and the TG-51 protocol value is 0.8%. The overall rms deviation between measurement and the TG-51 values, based on 20 chambers at the three energies, is 0.41%. When the effect of a 1 mm PMMA waterproofing sleeve is taken into account in the calculations, the maximum deviation is 1.1% and the overall rms deviation between measurement and calculation 0.48%. When the beam is specified using TPR10(20), and measurements are compared with kQ values calculated using the version of TG-21 with corrected formalism and data, differences are up to 1.6% when no sleeve corrections are taken into account. For the NE2571 and the NE2611A chamber types, for which the most literature data are

Spiraling contaminant electrons increase doses to surfaces outside the photon beam of an MRI-linac with a perpendicular magnetic field.

Science.gov (United States)

Hackett, Sara L; van Asselen, Bram; Wolthaus, Jochem W H; Bluemink, J J; Ishakoglu, Kübra; Kok, Jan G M; Lagendijk, Jan J W; Raaymakers, Bas W

2018-03-29

The transverse magnetic field of an MRI-linac sweeps contaminant electrons away from the radiation beam. Films oriented perpendicular to the magnetic field and 5cm from the radiation beam edge show a projection of the divergent beam, indicating that contaminant electrons spiral along magnetic field lines and deposit dose on surfaces outside the primary beam perpendicular to the magnetic field. These spiraling contaminant electrons (SCE) could increase skin doses to protruding regions of the patient along the cranio-caudal axis. This study investigated doses from SCE for an MRI-linac comprising a 7MV linac and a 1.5T MRI scanner. Surface doses to films perpendicular to the magnetic field and 5cm from the radiation beam edge showed increased dose within the projection of the primary beam, whereas films parallel to the magnetic field and 5cm from the beam edge showed no region of increased dose. However, the dose from contaminant electrons is absorbed within a few millimeters. For large fields, the SCE dose is within the same order of magnitude as doses from scattered and leakage photons. Doses for both SCE and scattered photons decrease rapidly with decreasing beam size and increasing distance from the beam edge. © 2018 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

Radical distributions in ammonium tartrate single crystals exposed to photon and neutron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marrale, M.; Longo, A.; Brai, M.; Barbon, A.; Brustolon, M.

2014-01-01

The radiation therapy carried out by means of heavy charged particles (such as carbon ions) and neutrons is rapidly becoming widespread worldwide. The success of these radiation therapies relies on the high density of energy released by these particles or by secondary particles produced after primary interaction with matter. The biological damages produced by ionising radiations in tissues and cells depend more properly on the energy released per unit pathlength, which is the linear energy transfer and which determines the radiation quality. To improve the therapy effectiveness, it is necessary to grasp the mechanisms of free radical production and distribution after irradiation with these particles when compared with the photon beams. In this work some preliminary results on the analysis of the spatial distributions of the free radicals produced after exposure of ammonium tartrate crystals to various radiation beams ( 60 Co gamma photons and thermal neutrons) were reported. Electron spin resonance analyses were performed by the electron spin echo technique, which allows the determination of local spin concentrations and by double electron-electron resonance technique, which is able to measure the spatial distance distribution (range 1.5-8 nm) among pairs of radicals in solids. The results of these analyses are discussed on the basis of the different distributions of free radicals produced by the two different radiation beams used. This paper extends to the single crystal case, a similar work done on AT powder irradiated with different beams, with assessment of microscopic radical concentration by determining the amount of ID contribution and obtaining the inter-radical distance distributions by double microwave irradiation. In this paper single crystals of AT have been exposed to 60 Co photons and neutrons. The results confirm that advanced pulse EPR techniques allow the direct measurement of the local free radical concentration and provide information about the

Feedback control of laser welding based on frequency analysis of light emissions and adaptive beam shaping

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mrňa, Libor; Šarbort, Martin; Řeřucha, Šimon; Jedlička, Petr

2012-01-01

Roč. 39, NOV (2012), s. 784-791 ISSN 1875-3892. [LANE 2012. Laser Assisted Net Shape Engineering /7./ International Conference on Photonic Technologies. Fürth, 12.11.2012-15.12.2012] Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : laser welding * feedback control * frequency analysis * adaptive beam shaping Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers

SU-F-T-491: Photon Beam Matching Analysis at Multiple Sites Up to Twelve Years Post Installation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Able, C [Florida Cancer Specialists - New Port Richey, New Port Richey, FL (United States); Zakikhani, R [Florida Cancer Specialists - Largo, Largo, FL (United States); Yan, K [Florida Cancer Specialists- Tampa, Tampa, FL (United States); Sha, D [Florida Cancer Specialist - New Port Richey, New Port Richey, FL (United States); Chopra, A [Florida Cancer Specialist - Brooksville, Spring Hill, FL (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To determine if the photon beams associated with several models of accelerators are matched with ‘Golden Beam’ data (VGBD) to assess treatment planning modeling and delivery. Methods: Six accelerators’ photon beams were evaluated to determine if they matched the manufacturer’s (Varian Medical Systems, Inc.) VGBD. Additional direct comparisons of the 6X and 18X beams using the manufacturer’s specification of Basic and Fine beam matching were also performed. The Cseries accelerator models were 21 EX (3), IX (2), and a IX Trilogy, ranging from three to twelve years post installation. Computerized beam scanning was performed (IBA Blue Phantom 2) with 2 CC13 ion chambers in water at 100 cm SSD. Dmax (10 cm2 field size), percentage depth dose (6 cm2, 10 cm2, 20 cm2, and 30 cm2 field sizes) and beam uniformity (10 cm2, 30 cm2 and 40 cm2 field sizes) were evaluated. Results: When comparing the beams with VGBD using the ‘Basic’ matching criteria, all beams were within the specifications ( 1.5mm at dmax, 1% PDD, and 2% Profiles). When considering the “Fine” matching criteria ( 1.5mm at dmax, 0.5% PDD, and 2% Profiles), only three of six 6MV beams and two of six high energy (five 18MV & one 15MV) beams passed. Direct comparisons between accelerators using the Clinac IX (installed 2012) as the reference beam datasets resulted in all 6 MV and 18MV beams meeting both the “Basic” and “Fine” criterion with the exception of two accelerators. Conclusion: Linear accelerators installed up to nine years apart are capable of meeting the manufacturers beam matching criteria for “Basic” matching. Without any adjustments most beams, when evaluated, may meet the “Fine” match criteria. The use of a single dataset (VGBD or designated accelerator reference data) for treatment planning commissioning is acceptable and can provide quality treatment delivery.

Ant colony algorithm implementation in electron and photon Monte Carlo transport: application to the commissioning of radiosurgery photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Pareja, S; Galán, P; Manzano, F; Brualla, L; Lallena, A M

2010-07-01

In this work, the authors describe an approach which has been developed to drive the application of different variance-reduction techniques to the Monte Carlo simulation of photon and electron transport in clinical accelerators. The new approach considers the following techniques: Russian roulette, splitting, a modified version of the directional bremsstrahlung splitting, and the azimuthal particle redistribution. Their application is controlled by an ant colony algorithm based on an importance map. The procedure has been applied to radiosurgery beams. Specifically, the authors have calculated depth-dose profiles, off-axis ratios, and output factors, quantities usually considered in the commissioning of these beams. The agreement between Monte Carlo results and the corresponding measurements is within approximately 3%/0.3 mm for the central axis percentage depth dose and the dose profiles. The importance map generated in the calculation can be used to discuss simulation details in the different parts of the geometry in a simple way. The simulation CPU times are comparable to those needed within other approaches common in this field. The new approach is competitive with those previously used in this kind of problems (PSF generation or source models) and has some practical advantages that make it to be a good tool to simulate the radiation transport in problems where the quantities of interest are difficult to obtain because of low statistics.

Ant colony algorithm implementation in electron and photon Monte Carlo transport: Application to the commissioning of radiosurgery photon beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Pareja, S.; Galan, P.; Manzano, F.; Brualla, L.; Lallena, A. M. [Servicio de Radiofisica Hospitalaria, Hospital Regional Universitario ' ' Carlos Haya' ' , Avda. Carlos Haya s/n, E-29010 Malaga (Spain); Unidad de Radiofisica Hospitalaria, Hospital Xanit Internacional, Avda. de los Argonautas s/n, E-29630 Benalmadena (Malaga) (Spain); NCTeam, Strahlenklinik, Universitaetsklinikum Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, D-45122 Essen (Germany); Departamento de Fisica Atomica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada (Spain)

2010-07-15

Purpose: In this work, the authors describe an approach which has been developed to drive the application of different variance-reduction techniques to the Monte Carlo simulation of photon and electron transport in clinical accelerators. Methods: The new approach considers the following techniques: Russian roulette, splitting, a modified version of the directional bremsstrahlung splitting, and the azimuthal particle redistribution. Their application is controlled by an ant colony algorithm based on an importance map. Results: The procedure has been applied to radiosurgery beams. Specifically, the authors have calculated depth-dose profiles, off-axis ratios, and output factors, quantities usually considered in the commissioning of these beams. The agreement between Monte Carlo results and the corresponding measurements is within {approx}3%/0.3 mm for the central axis percentage depth dose and the dose profiles. The importance map generated in the calculation can be used to discuss simulation details in the different parts of the geometry in a simple way. The simulation CPU times are comparable to those needed within other approaches common in this field. Conclusions: The new approach is competitive with those previously used in this kind of problems (PSF generation or source models) and has some practical advantages that make it to be a good tool to simulate the radiation transport in problems where the quantities of interest are difficult to obtain because of low statistics.

Ant colony algorithm implementation in electron and photon Monte Carlo transport: Application to the commissioning of radiosurgery photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Pareja, S.; Galan, P.; Manzano, F.; Brualla, L.; Lallena, A. M.

2010-01-01

Purpose: In this work, the authors describe an approach which has been developed to drive the application of different variance-reduction techniques to the Monte Carlo simulation of photon and electron transport in clinical accelerators. Methods: The new approach considers the following techniques: Russian roulette, splitting, a modified version of the directional bremsstrahlung splitting, and the azimuthal particle redistribution. Their application is controlled by an ant colony algorithm based on an importance map. Results: The procedure has been applied to radiosurgery beams. Specifically, the authors have calculated depth-dose profiles, off-axis ratios, and output factors, quantities usually considered in the commissioning of these beams. The agreement between Monte Carlo results and the corresponding measurements is within ∼3%/0.3 mm for the central axis percentage depth dose and the dose profiles. The importance map generated in the calculation can be used to discuss simulation details in the different parts of the geometry in a simple way. The simulation CPU times are comparable to those needed within other approaches common in this field. Conclusions: The new approach is competitive with those previously used in this kind of problems (PSF generation or source models) and has some practical advantages that make it to be a good tool to simulate the radiation transport in problems where the quantities of interest are difficult to obtain because of low statistics.

Beam monitoring in radiotherapy and hadron-therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontbonne, J.M.

2012-01-01

Radiotherapy techniques have evolved over the past twenty years. For photon beams, the development of tools such as multi leaf collimators, machines such as Cyberknife or tomo-therapy, have improved the conformation of treatments to the tumor volume and lowered maximum dose to healthy tissue. In another register, the use of proton-therapy is expanding in all countries and the development of carbon ions beams for hadron-therapy is also increasing. If techniques improve, the control requirements for the monitoring of the dose administered to patients are always the same. This document presents, first, the ins and outs of the different techniques of external beam radiotherapy: photon treatments, protons and hadrons. Starting from the basis of clinical requirements, it sets the variables to be measured in order to ensure the quality of treatment for the different considered modalities. It then describes some implementations, based on precise and rigorous specifications, for the monitoring and measurement of beams delivered by external beam radiotherapy equipments. Two instrumental techniques are particularly highlighted, plastic scintillators dosimetry for the control of megavoltage photon beams and ionization chamber dosimetry applied to proton-therapy or radiobiology experiments conducted at the GANIL facility. Analyzes and perspectives, based on the recent developments of treatment techniques, are delivered in conclusion and can serve as guide for future instrumental developments. (author)

Quantum optics. All-optical routing of single photons by a one-atom switch controlled by a single photon.

Science.gov (United States)

Shomroni, Itay; Rosenblum, Serge; Lovsky, Yulia; Bechler, Orel; Guendelman, Gabriel; Dayan, Barak

2014-08-22

The prospect of quantum networks, in which quantum information is carried by single photons in photonic circuits, has long been the driving force behind the effort to achieve all-optical routing of single photons. We realized a single-photon-activated switch capable of routing a photon from any of its two inputs to any of its two outputs. Our device is based on a single atom coupled to a fiber-coupled, chip-based microresonator. A single reflected control photon toggles the switch from high reflection (R ~ 65%) to high transmission (T ~ 90%), with an average of ~1.5 control photons per switching event (~3, including linear losses). No additional control fields are required. The control and target photons are both in-fiber and practically identical, making this scheme compatible with scalable architectures for quantum information processing. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Resolution and drift measurements on the advanced photon source beam position monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.; Kahana, E.

1995-01-01

The resolution and long-term drift of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) beam position monitor (BPM) electronics were measured using the charged particle beams in the ESRF storage ring with various beam current and configurations (single bunch, 8 and 16 equally spaced bunches, and 1/3-fill). The energy of the stored electrons was 6 GeV. The integrated BPM electronics system as used for this work is capable of measuring the beam position on a turn-by-turn basis, which can be accumulated for N turns (N=2 n , n=1,2,...,11) . Estimation of the BPM resolution apart from the low-frequency beam motion was made by measuring the standard deviation in the measured beam position with different Ns. The analysis of the results indicates a BPM resolution of 18/√N [μm] for the APS storage ring, which is equivalent to 0.07 μm/√Hz. For the miniature insertion device BPM with 2.8 times higher sensitivity, the resolution will be 0.02 μm/√Hz. The long-term drift of the BPM electronics independent of the actual beam motion was measured at 2 μm/hr, which settled after approximately 1.5 hours. This drift can be attributed mainly to the temperature effect. Comparison of the results with the laboratory measurements shows good agreement. Implication of the BPM resolution limit on the proposed global and local beam position feedback systems for the APS storage ring will also be discussed. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

Qualification of a Monte Carlo model of photon beams of a Lilac Elekta Precise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linares R, H. M.; Laguardia, R. A.; Lara M, E.

2014-08-01

For the simulation of the accelerator head the parameters determination that characterize the electrons primary beam that affect in the target is a step that involves a fundamental role in the precision of the Monte Carlo calculations. Applying the proposed methodology by Pena et al. [2007], in this work was carried out the qualification of the photon beams (6 MV and 15 MV) of an accelerator Elekta Precise, using the Monte Carlo code EGSnrc. The influence exerted by the characteristics of the electrons primary beam on the distribution of absorbed dose for the two energy of this equipment was studied. Using different mid energy combinations and FWHM of the electrons primary beam was calculated the dose deposited in a segmented water mannequin with its surface to 100 cm of the source. Starting from the deposited dose in the mannequin the dose curves in depth and dose profiles to different depths were built. These curves were compared with measured values in a similar experimental arrangement to the carried out simulation, applying acceptability criteria based on confidence intervals [Venselaar et al. 2001]. The dose profiles for small fields were like it was expected, to be strongly influenced by the radial distribution (FWHM). The energy/FWHM combinations that better reproduce the experimental curves of each photon beam were determined. One time determined the best combination (5.75 MeV/2 mm and 11.25 MeV/2 mm, respectively) was used for the generation of the phase spaces and the field factors calculation. A good correspondence was obtained between the simulations and the measurements for a wide range of field sizes, as well as for different types of detectors, being all the results inside of the tolerance margins. (author)

Beam control and matching for the transport of intense beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, H.; Bernal, S.; Godlove, T.; Huo, Y.; Kishek, R.A.; Haber, I.; Quinn, B.; Walter, M.; Zou, Y.; Reiser, M.; O'Shea, P.G.

2005-01-01

The transport of intense beams for heavy-ion inertial fusion demands tight control of beam characteristics from the source to the target. The University of Maryland Electron Ring (UMER), which uses a low-energy (10 keV), high-current electron beam to model the transport physics of a future recirculator driver, employs real-time beam characterization and control in order to optimize beam quality throughout the strong focusing lattice. We describe the main components and operation of the diagnostics/control system in UMER. It employs phosphor screens, real-time image analysis, quadrupole scans and electronic skew correctors. The procedure is not only indispensable for optimum transport over a long distance, but also provides important insights into the beam physics involved. We discuss control/optimization issues related to beam steering, quadrupole rotation errors and rms envelope matching

Absorbed dose calibration factors for parallel-plate chambers in high energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McEwen, M.R.; Duane, S.; Thomas, R.A.S.

2002-01-01

An investigation was carried out into the performance of parallel-plate chambers in 60 Co and MV photon beams. The aim was to derive calibration factors, investigate chamber-to-chamber variability and provide much-needed information on the use of parallel-plate chambers in high-energy X-ray beams. A set of NE2561/NE2611 reference chambers, calibrated against the primary standard graphite calorimeter is used for the dissemination of absorbed dose to water. The parallel-plate chambers were calibrated by comparison with the NPL reference chambers in a water phantom. Two types of parallel-plate chamber were investigated - the NACP -02 and Roos and measurements were made at 60 C0 and 6 linac photon energies (6-19 MV). Calibration factors were derived together with polarity corrections. The standard uncertainty in the calibration of a chamber in terms of absorbed dose to water is estimated to be ±0.75%. The results of the polarity measurements were somewhat confusing. One would expect the correction to be small and previous measurements in electron beams have indicated that there is little variation between chambers of these types. However, some chambers gave unexpectedly large polarity corrections, up to 0.8%. By contrast the measured polarity correction for a NE2611 chamber was less than 0.13% at all energies. The reason for these large polarity corrections is not clear, but experimental error and linac variations have been ruled out. By combining the calibration data for the different chambers it was possible to obtain experimental k Q factors for the two chamber types. It would appear from the data that the variations between chambers of the same type are random and one can therefore define a generic curve for each chamber type. These are presented in Figure 1, together with equivalent data for two cylindrical chamber types - NE2561/NE2611 and NE2571. As can be seen, there is a clear difference between the curves for the cylindrical chambers and those for the

High-directivity planar antenna using controllable photonic bandgap material at microwave frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

de Lustrac, A.; Gadot, F.; Akmansoy, E.; Brillat, T.

2001-01-01

In this letter, we experimentally demonstrate the capability of a controllable photonic bandgap (CPBG) material to conform the emitted radiation of a planar antenna at 12 GHz. The CPBG material is a variable conductance lattice fabricated with high-frequency PIN diodes soldered along metallic stripes on dielectric printed boards. Depending on the diode bias, the emitted radiation of the antenna can be either transmitted or totally reflected by the material. In the transmission state, the antenna radiation is spatially filtered by the CPBG material in a sharp beam perpendicular to the surface of the material. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

Polarization control of multi-photon absorption under intermediate femtosecond laser field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Wenjing; Liang Guo; Wu Ping; Liu Pei; Jia Tianqing; Sun Zhenrong; Zhang Shian

2017-01-01

It has been shown that the femtosecond laser polarization modulation is a very simple and well-established method to control the multi-photon absorption process by the light–matter interaction. Previous studies mainly focused on the multi-photon absorption control in the weak field. In this paper, we further explore the polarization control behavior of multi-photon absorption process in the intermediate femtosecond laser field. In the weak femtosecond laser field, the second-order perturbation theory can well describe the non-resonant two-photon absorption process. However, the higher order nonlinear effect (e.g., four-photon absorption) can occur in the intermediate femtosecond laser field, and thus it is necessary to establish new theoretical model to describe the multi-photon absorption process, which includes the two-photon and four-photon transitions. Here, we construct a fourth-order perturbation theory to study the polarization control behavior of this multi-photon absorption under the intermediate femtosecond laser field excitation, and our theoretical results show that the two-photon and four-photon excitation pathways can induce a coherent interference, while the coherent interference is constructive or destructive that depends on the femtosecond laser center frequency. Moreover, the two-photon and four-photon transitions have the different polarization control efficiency, and the four-photon absorption can obtain the higher polarization control efficiency. Thus, the polarization control efficiency of the whole excitation process can be increased or decreased by properly designing the femtosecond laser field intensity and laser center frequency. These studies can provide a clear physical picture for understanding and controlling the multi-photon absorption process in the intermediate femtosecond laser field, and also can provide a theoretical guidance for the future experimental realization. (paper)

Experimental determination of beam quality factors, kQ, for two types of Farmer chamber in a 10 MV photon and a 175 MeV proton beam.

Science.gov (United States)

Medin, Joakim; Ross, Carl K; Klassen, Norman V; Palmans, Hugo; Grusell, Erik; Grindborg, Jan-Erik

2006-03-21

Absorbed doses determined with a sealed water calorimeter operated at 4 degrees C are compared with the results obtained using ionization chambers and the IAEA TRS-398 code of practice in a 10 MV photon beam (TPR(20,10) = 0.734) and a 175 MeV proton beam (at a depth corresponding to the residual range, R(res) = 14.7 cm). Three NE 2571 and two FC65-G ionization chambers were calibrated in terms of absorbed-dose-to-water in (60)Co at the Swedish secondary standard dosimetry laboratory, directly traceable to the BIPM. In the photon beam quality, calorimetry was found to agree with ionometry within 0.3%, confirming the k(Q) values tabulated in TRS-398. In contrast, a 1.8% deviation was found in the proton beam at 6 g cm(-2) depth, suggesting that the TRS-398 tabulated k(Q) values for these two ionization chamber types are too high. Assuming no perturbation effect in the proton beam for the ionization chambers, a value for (w(air)/e)(Q) of 33.6 J C(-1) +/- 1.7% (k = 1) can be derived from these measurements. An analytical evaluation of the effect from non-elastic nuclear interactions in the ionization chamber wall indicates a perturbation effect of 0.6%. Including this estimated result in the proton beam would increase the determined (w(air)/e)(Q) value by the same amount.

Optical and energy dependent response of the alanine gel solution produced at IPEN to clinical photons and electrons beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Cleber F.

2011-01-01

The DL-Alanine (C 3 H 7 NO 2 ) is an amino acid tissue equivalent traditionally used as standard dosimetric material in EPR dosimetry. Recently, it has been studied to be applied in gel dosimetry, considering that the addition of Alanine in the Fricke gel solution improves the production of ferric ions radiation induced. The spectrophotometric evaluation technique can be used comparing the two spectrum wavelengths bands: 457 nm band that corresponds to ferrous ions and 588 nm band that corresponds to ferric ions concentration to evaluate the dosimetric properties of this material. The performance of the Alanine gel solution developed at IPEN has been firstly studied using the spectrophotometric technique aiming to apply this material to 3D clinical doses evaluations using MRI technique. In this work, the optical and the energy dependent response of this solution submitted to clinical photons and electrons beams were studied. Different batches of gel solutions were prepared and maintained at low temperature during 12 h to solidification. Before irradiation, the samples were maintained during 1 h at room temperature. The photons and electrons irradiations were carried out using a Varian 2100C Medical Linear Accelerator of the Radiotherapy Department of the Hospital das Clinicas of the University of Sao Paulo with absorbed doses between 1 and 40 Gy; radiation field of 10 x 10 cm 2 ; photon energies of 6 MeV and 15 MeV; and electron with energies between 6 and 15 MeV. The obtained results indicate that signal response dependence for clinical photons and electrons beams, to the same doses, for Alanine gel dosimeter is better than 3.6 % (1σ), and the energy dependence response, to the same doses, is better 3% (1σ) for both beams. These results indicate that the same calibration factor can be used and the optical response is energy independent in the studied dose range and clinical photons and electrons beams energies. (author)

Comparison of measurements of absorbed dose to water using a water calorimeter and ionization chambers for clinical radiotherapy photon and electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marles, A.E.M.

1981-01-01

With the development of the water calorimeter direct measurement of absorbed dose in water becomes possible. This could lead to the establishment of an absorbed dose rather than an exposure related standard for ionization chambers for high energy electrons and photons. In changing to an absorbed dose standard it is necessary to investigate the effect of different parameters, among which are the energy dependence, the air volume, wall thickness and material of the chamber. The effect of these parameters is experimentally studied and presented for several commercially available chambers and one experimental chamber, for photons up to 25 MV and electrons up to 20 MeV, using a water calorimeter as the absorbed dose standard and the most recent formalism to calculate the absorbed dose with ion chambers. For electron beams, the dose measured with the calorimeter was 1% lower than the dose calculated with the chambers, independent of beam energy and chamber. For photon beams, the absorbed dose measured with the calorimeter was 3.8% higher than the absorbed dose calculated from the chamber readings. Such differences were found to be chamber and energy independent. The results for the photons were found to be statistically different from the results with the electron beams. Such difference could not be attributed to a difference in the calorimeter response

Enhanced Etching, Surface Damage Recovery, and Submicron Patterning of Hybrid Perovskites using a Chemically Gas-Assisted Focused-Ion Beam for Subwavelength Grating Photonic Applications

KAUST Repository

Alias, Mohd Sharizal

2015-12-22

The high optical gain and absorption of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted attention for photonic device applications. However, owing to the sensitivity of organic moieties to solvents and temperature, device processing is challenging, particularly for patterning. Here, we report the direct patterning of perovskites using chemically gas-assisted focused-ion beam (GAFIB) etching with XeF2 and I2 precursors. We demonstrate etching enhancement in addition to controllability and marginal surface damage compared to focused-ion beam (FIB) etching without precursors. Utilizing the GAFIB etching, we fabricated a uniform and periodic submicron perovskite subwavelength grating (SWG) absorber with broadband absorption and nanoscale precision. Our results demonstrate the use of FIB as a submicron patterning tool and a means of providing surface treatment (after FIB patterning to minimize optical loss) for perovskite photonic nanostructures. The SWG absorber can be patterned on perovskite solar cells to enhance the device efficiency through increasing light trapping and absorption.

Calibration of an advanced photon source linac beam position monitor used for positron position measurement of a beam containing both positrons and electrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sereno, Nicholas S.

1998-01-01

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) linac beam position monitors can be used to monitor the position of a beam containing both positrons and electrons. To accomplish this task, both the signal at the bunching frequency of 2856 MHz and the signal at 2x2856 MHz are acquired and processed for each stripline. The positron beam position is obtained by forming a linear combination of both 2856 and 5712 MHz signals for each stripline and then performing the standard difference over sum computation. The required linear combination of the 2856 and 5712 MHz signals depends on the electrical calibration of each stripline/cable combination. In this paper, the calibration constants for both 2856 MHz and 5712 MHz signals for each stripline are determined using a pure beam of electrons. The calibration constants are obtained by measuring the 2856 and 5712 MHz stripline signals at various electron beam currents and positions. Finally, the calibration constants measured using electrons are used to determine positron beam position for the mixed beam case

Image acquisition and analysis for beam diagnostics, applications of the Taiwan photon source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, C.Y.; Chen, J.; Cheng, Y.S.; Hsu, K.T.; Hu, K.H.; Kuo, C.H.; Wu, C.Y.

2012-01-01

Design and implementation of image acquisition and analysis is in proceeding for the Taiwan Photon Source (TPS) diagnostic applications. The optical system contains screen, lens, and lighting system. A CCD camera with Gigabit Ethernet interface (GigE Vision) will be a standard image acquisition device. Image acquisition will be done on EPICS IOC via PV channel and analysis the properties by using Matlab tool to evaluate the beam profile (sigma), beam size position and tilt angle et al. The EPICS IOC integrated with Matlab as a data processing system is not only could be used in image analysis but also in many types of equipment data processing applications. Progress of the project will be summarized in this report. (authors)

Photon control of phonons in mixed crystal quantum dots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ingale, Alka

2003-12-15

Coherent phonon oscillations in solids can be excited impulsively by a single femtosecond laser pulse whose duration is shorter than a phonon period. In the impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS) experiment, scattering of probe is monitored as a function of time with respect to pump to generate time domain spectra of coherent phonons. In this paper, we present one such study of CdSe{sub 0.68}Te{sub 0.32} (d{approx}80 A) quantum dots in glass matrix, i.e semiconductor-doped glass (SDG) RG780 from Schott, USA and the experiment was performed at Prof. Merlin's laboratory at the University of Michigan, USA. Here, we present first report of selectively driving only CdSe-like modes in these mixed crystal quantum dots using photon control with two pump beams.

Control system for Siam photon source

CERN Document Server

Apiwatwaja, R; Isoyama, G; Ishii, T; Pairsuwan, W

2003-01-01

A new computer control system has been developed for Siam photon source, which is the first synchrotron light source in Thailand, personal computers and PLC's have been employed which are connected together through Ethernet. Man Machine Interface Stations (MMIS) at the front end act as a graphical user interface within Windows environment. The monitoring and controlling of individual devices is handled through several pairs of digital control station and the device interface located in each part of the synchrotron complex. The installation of the control system has been completed. The commissioning test of the control system is underway and the reliability of the system is on the positive side. Details of commissioning tests as well as characteristics of this newly built control system for the Siam photon source are described in this report.

Optimization of parameters for fitting linear accelerator photon beams using a modified CBEAM model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayyangar, K.; Daftari, I.; Palta, J.; Suntharalingam, N.

1989-01-01

Measured beam profiles and central-axis depth-dose data for 6- and 25-MV photon beams are used to generate a dose matrix which represents the full beam. A corresponding dose matrix is also calculated using the modified CBEAM model. The calculational model uses the usual set of three parameters to define the intensity at beam edges and the parameter that accounts for collimator transmission. An additional set of three parameters is used for the primary profile factor, expressed as a function of distance from the central axis. An optimization program has been adapted to automatically adjust these parameters to minimize the χ 2 between the measured and calculated data. The average values of the parameters for small (6x6 cm 2 ), medium (10x10 cm 2 ), and large (20x20 cm 2 ) field sizes are found to represent the beam adequately for all field sizes. The calculated and the measured doses at any point agree to within 2% for any field size in the range 4x4 to 40x40 cm 2

Relative dosimetry of photon beam of 6 MV with a liquid ionization chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benitez Villegas, E. M.; Casado Villalon, F. J.; Martin-Cueto, J. A.; Caudepon Moreno, F.; Garcia Pareja, S.; Galan Montenegro, P.

2011-01-01

The increasing use of reduced size fields in the special techniques of treatment generates regions with high dose gradients. It therefore requires the use of detectors that present high spatial resolution. The aim of this study is to compare the dosimetric measurements obtained with a liquid ionization chamber PTW MicroLion recently acquired with other commonly used detectors for a photon beam of 6 MV linear electron accelerator Varian 600DBX.

A Quantum Network with Atoms and Photons

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-30

Section 5. The experimental design used a 1324-nm laser with beam splitters and wave-plates to measure the polarization drift as shown in Fig. 58. A...pump pulse on the beam splitter . ......................................................... 42 Fig. 32 Initial quantum density matrix tomography...photon pairs. BS is a 50-50 beam splitter and DM is a dichroic mirror that transmits idler photons and reflects signal photons. PM is polarization

Photon-Photon Collisions -- Past and Future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brodsky, Stanley J.

2005-01-01

I give a brief review of the history of photon-photon physics and a survey of its potential at future electron-positron colliders. Exclusive hadron production processes in photon-photon and electron-photon collisions provide important tests of QCD at the amplitude level, particularly as measures of hadron distribution amplitudes. There are also important high energy γγ and eγ tests of quantum chromodynamics, including the production of jets in photon-photon collisions, deeply virtual Compton scattering on a photon target, and leading-twist single-spin asymmetries for a photon polarized normal to a production plane. Since photons couple directly to all fundamental fields carrying the electromagnetic current including leptons, quarks, W's and supersymmetric particles, high energy γγ collisions will provide a comprehensive laboratory for Higgs production and exploring virtually every aspect of the Standard Model and its extensions. High energy back-scattered laser beams will thus greatly extend the range of physics of the International Linear Collider

A model based on the Fermi-Dirac distribution to determine the dose profile of a photon beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerrero, R.; Silva, P.; Gutt, F.; Diaz, J.

1998-01-01

The objective of this work is to propose a new model based in the Fermi-Dirac distribution, in which it is considered that the photon beams possess a particles behavior when they interact with the matter. (Author)

Separation of ballistic and diffusive fluorescence photons in confocal Light-Sheet Microscopy of Arabidopsis roots

Science.gov (United States)

Meinert, Tobias; Tietz, Olaf; Palme, Klaus J.; Rohrbach, Alexander

2016-01-01

Image quality in light-sheet fluorescence microscopy is strongly affected by the shape of the illuminating laser beam inside embryos, plants or tissue. While the phase of Gaussian or Bessel beams propagating through thousands of cells can be partly controlled holographically, the propagation of fluorescence light to the detector is difficult to control. With each scatter process a fluorescence photon loses information necessary for the image generation. Using Arabidopsis root tips we demonstrate that ballistic and diffusive fluorescence photons can be separated by analyzing the image spectra in each plane without a priori knowledge. We introduce a theoretical model allowing to extract typical scattering parameters of the biological material. This allows to attenuate image contributions from diffusive photons and to amplify the relevant image contributions from ballistic photons through a depth dependent deconvolution. In consequence, image contrast and resolution are significantly increased and scattering artefacts are minimized especially for Bessel beams with confocal line detection. PMID:27553506

Separation of ballistic and diffusive fluorescence photons in confocal Light-Sheet Microscopy of Arabidopsis roots.

Science.gov (United States)

Meinert, Tobias; Tietz, Olaf; Palme, Klaus J; Rohrbach, Alexander

2016-08-24

Image quality in light-sheet fluorescence microscopy is strongly affected by the shape of the illuminating laser beam inside embryos, plants or tissue. While the phase of Gaussian or Bessel beams propagating through thousands of cells can be partly controlled holographically, the propagation of fluorescence light to the detector is difficult to control. With each scatter process a fluorescence photon loses information necessary for the image generation. Using Arabidopsis root tips we demonstrate that ballistic and diffusive fluorescence photons can be separated by analyzing the image spectra in each plane without a priori knowledge. We introduce a theoretical model allowing to extract typical scattering parameters of the biological material. This allows to attenuate image contributions from diffusive photons and to amplify the relevant image contributions from ballistic photons through a depth dependent deconvolution. In consequence, image contrast and resolution are significantly increased and scattering artefacts are minimized especially for Bessel beams with confocal line detection.

Establishment of a radiotherapy service with a linear accelerator (photons): acceptance tests, dosimetry and quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berdaky, Mafalda Feliciano

2000-01-01

This work presents the operational part of the final process of the establishment of a radiotherapy service with a linear accelerator (6 MeV photon beams), including the acceptance tests, commissioning tests and the implementation of a quality control program through routine mechanical and radiation tests. All acceptance tests were satisfactory, showing results below the allowed limits of the manufacturer, the commissioning tests presented results within those of the international recommendations. The quality control program was performed during 34 months and showed an excellent stability of this accelerator. (author)

Vaccum and beam diagnostic controls for ORIC beam lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tatum, B.A.

1991-01-01

Vacuum and beam diagnostic equipment on beam lines from the Oak Ridge Isochronous Cyclotron, ORIC, is now controlled by a new dedicated system. The new system is based on an industrial programmable logic controller with an IBM AT personal computer providing control room operator interface. Expansion of this system requires minimal reconfiguration and programming, thus facilitating the construction of additional beam lines. Details of the implementation, operation, and performance of the system are discussed. 2 refs., 2 figs

Development of GUS for control applications at the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Y.; Barr, D.; Borland, M.; Kirchman, J.; Decker, G.; Kim, K.

1994-01-01

A script-based interpretive shell GUS (General Purpose Data Acquisition for Unix Shell) has been developed for application to the Advanced Photon Source (APS) control. The primary design objective of GUS is to provide a mechanism for efficient data flow among modularized objects called Data Access Modules (DAMs). GUS consists of four major components: user interface, kernel, built-in command module, and DAMS. It also incorporates the Unix shell to make use of the existing utility programs for file manipulation and data analysis. At this time, DAMs have been written for device access through EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System), data I/O for SDDS (Self-Describing Data Set) files, matrix manipulation, graphics display, digital signal processing, and beam position feedback system control. The modular and object-oriented construction of GUS will facilitate addition of more DAMs with other functions in the future

Intercomparison of absorbed dose to water and air-kerma based dosimetry protocols for photon and electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huq, M.S.

2002-01-01

Full text: During the last three decades the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and organizations from various countries have published Codes of Practice (CoP) and dosimetry protocols for the calibration of high-energy photon and electron beams. They are based on the air-kerma or exposure calibration factor of an ionization chamber in a 60 Co gamma ray beam and formalism for the determination of absorbed dose to water in reference conditions. In recent years, the IAEA (IAEA TRS-398) and the AAPM (AAPM TG-51) have published new external beam dosimetry protocols that are based on the use of an ionization chamber calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to water in a standards laboratory's reference quality beam. These two new protocols follow those by the German Standard DIN, the British IPSM and the IAEA CoP for plane-parallel chambers, which have discussed and implemented the procedures for the determination of absorbed dose-to-water based on standards of absorbed dose-to-water. Since the publication of these protocols and CoPs, many comparisons, theoretical as well as experimental, between them have been published in the literature providing valuable information about the sources of similarities and discrepancies that exist among them. For example, the differences in the basic data for photon and electron beams included in the various IAEA CoPs are very small for the second edition of TRS-277 for photons, TRS-381 for electrons and TRS-398. In these cases the data changes posed by the adoption of TRS-398 are within about ±0.3% for the most commonly used energies. When implementing TRS-398 in these cases, the main difference will arise from the transition from K air to D w standards. For example, experimental comparison of absorbed doses between TRS-398 and TRS-277 for photons show an average difference of about 0.3% for most commonly used energies with a maximum difference of about 1% at a TPR 20

Sacral chordomas: Impact of high-dose proton/photon-beam radiation therapy combined with or without surgery for primary versus recurrent tumor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Lily; De Laney, Thomas F.; Liebsch, Norbert J.; Hornicek, Francis J.; Goldberg, Saveli; Mankin, Henry; Rosenberg, Andrew E.; Rosenthal, Daniel I.; Suit, Herman D.

2006-01-01

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of definitive treatment of sacral chordoma by high-dose proton/photon-beam radiation therapy alone or combined with surgery. Methods and Materials: The records of 16 primary and 11 recurrent sacral chordoma patients treated from November 1982 to November 2002 by proton/photon radiation therapy alone (6 patients) or combined with surgery (21 patients) have been analyzed for local control, survival, and treatment-related morbidity. The outcome analysis is based on follow-up information as of 2005. Results: Outcome results show a large difference in local failure rate between patients treated for primary and recurrent chordomas. Local control results by surgery and radiation were 12/14 vs. 1/7 for primary and recurrent lesions. For margin-positive patients, local control results were 10 of 11 and 0 of 5 in the primary and recurrent groups, respectively; the mean follow-up on these locally controlled patients was 8.8 years (4 at 10.3, 12.8, 17, and 21 years). Radiation alone was used in 6 patients, 4 of whom received ≥73.0 Gy (E); local control was observed in 3 of these 4 patients for 2.9, 4.9, and 7.6 years. Conclusion: These data indicate a high local control rate for surgical and radiation treatment of primary (12 of 14) as distinct from recurrent (1 of 7) sacral chordomas. Three of 4 chordomas treated by ≥73.0 Gy (E) of radiation alone had local control; 1 is at 91 months. This indicates that high-dose proton/photon therapy offers an effective treatment option

Matching beams on photon/electron linear accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliver, L.; Vial, P.; Hunt, P.

2004-01-01

Full text: There are a number of obvious reasons to match megavoltage X-ray and electron beams for clinical purposes. If two dual-purpose X-ray/electron linear accelerators are of the same design and manufacturer, then this might be possible. The issue is however whether the beams can be matched sufficiently close to be considered the same for patient treatments and planning data for dose calculation purposes. If successfully achieved, there are significant advantages in reduced commissioning time, less work in planning and flexibility in the treatment of patients between the two treatment machines. We have investigated matching a new Varian Clinac 21EX with our 1993 Varian Clinac 2100 C/D. A Varian Clinac 1800 was the first linear accelerator installed at RNSH in 1987. When the Clinac 2100 C/D was installed in 1993, we attempted to match all the X-ray and electron beams with the original Clinac 1800 physical data. The X-ray beam characteristics were satisfactory but the electron beams were not sufficiently compatible for planning or patient treatment purposes. A different designed scattering foil and electron applicator were the cause of the different electron beam physical characteristics between the two models. In replacing the Clinac 1800 with the Clinac 21EX, we have used the original 1993 data of the Clinac 2100 C/D as the gold standard to aim for. Initial measurements during acceptance tests showed that all beams satisfied the manufacturer's specification. The energy was then matched to the existing clinical physics data by adjusting the bending magnet power supply and re-tuning the accelerator. This involved matching % depth dose and the corresponding ratio of 10 and 20 cm % depth dose ratio for 6MV and 18 MV X-ray beams. For 6, 9, 12, 16 and 20 MeV electron beams the normal physical parameters of depth of maximum (R max ), the practical range (R p ), the depth of 50% (R 50 ), the slope (G), the average energy at the surface (E 0 ) and the % photon

Evaluation of the effect of tooth and dental restoration material on electron dose distribution and production of photon contamination in electron beam radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahreyni Toossi, M.T.; Ghorbani, Mahdi; Akbari, Fatemah; Sabet, Leila S.; Mehrpouyan, Mohammad

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of tooth and dental restoration materials on electron dose distribution and photon contamination production in electron beams of a medical linac. This evaluation was performed on 8, 12 and 14 MeV electron beams of a Siemens Primus linac. MCNPX Monte Carlo code was utilized and a 10 × 10 cm 2 applicator was simulated in the cases of tooth and combinations of tooth and Ceramco C3 ceramic veneer, tooth and Eclipse alloy and tooth and amalgam restoration materials in a soft tissue phantom. The relative electron and photon contamination doses were calculated for these materials. The presence of tooth and dental restoration material changed the electron dose distribution and photon contamination in phantom, depending on the type of the restoration material and electron beam’s energy. The maximum relative electron dose was 1.07 in the presence of tooth including amalgam for 14 MeV electron beam. When 100.00 cGy was prescribed for the reference point, the maximum absolute electron dose was 105.10 cGy in the presence of amalgam for 12 MeV electron beam and the maximum absolute photon contamination dose was 376.67 μGy for tooth in 14 MeV electron beam. The change in electron dose distribution should be considered in treatment planning, when teeth are irradiated in electron beam radiotherapy. If treatment planning can be performed in such a way that the teeth are excluded from primary irradiation, the potential errors in dose delivery to the tumour and normal tissues can be avoided.

Pilot Quality Control Program for Audit RT External Beams at Mexican Hospitals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez R, J T; Tovar M, V M

2008-01-01

A pilot quality control program for audit 18 radiotherapy RT external beams at 13 Mexican hospitals is described--for eleven 60 Co beams and seven photon beams of 6, 10 and 15 MV from accelerators. This program contains five parts: a) Preparation of the TLD-100 powder: washing, drying and annealing (one hour 400 deg. C plus 24 hrs 80 deg. C). b) Sending two IAEA type capsules to the hospitals for irradiation at the hospital to a nominal D W = 2 Gy·c) Preparation at the SSDL of ten calibration curves CC in the range of 0.5 Gy to 6 Gy in terms of absorbed dose to water D W for 60 Co with traceability to primary laboratory NRC (Canada), according to a window irradiation: 26/10/2007-7/12/2007. d) Reading all capsules that match their hospital time irradiation and the SSDL window irradiation. f) Evaluation of the Dw imparted by the hospitals

Pilot Quality Control Program for Audit RT External Beams at Mexican Hospitals

Science.gov (United States)

Álvarez R., J. T.; Tovar M., V. M.

2008-08-01

A pilot quality control program for audit 18 radiotherapy RT external beams at 13 Mexican hospitals is described—for eleven 60 Co beams and seven photon beams of 6, 10 and 15 MV from accelerators. This program contains five parts: a) Preparation of the TLD-100 powder: washing, drying and annealing (one hour 400 °C plus 24 hrs 80 °C). b) Sending two IAEA type capsules to the hospitals for irradiation at the hospital to a nominal DW = 2 Gy ṡ c ) Preparation at the SSDL of ten calibration curves CC in the range of 0.5 Gy to 6 Gy in terms of absorbed dose to water DW for 60 Co with traceability to primary laboratory NRC (Canada), according to a window irradiation: 26/10/2007-7/12/2007. d) Reading all capsules that match their hospital time irradiation and the SSDL window irradiation. f) Evaluation of the Dw imparted by the hospitals.

Constraints on ion beam handling for intersecting beam experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruse, T.

1981-01-01

The intense synchrotron radiation beams from the NSLS uv or x-ray storage rings still do not compare in monochromatized photon flux with a laser beam, a fact which becomes apparent in considering reaction rates for interaction of photon and ion beams. There are two prototypical interaction geometries, parallel and perpendicular. Calculations should properly be done in the rest frame of the ion beam; however, expected beta values are small, so the lab frame will be employed and aberration and Doppler shift effects neglected

SU-F-T-461: Dosimetric Evaluation of Indigenous Farmer Type Chamber FAR65- GB for Reference Dosimetry of FFF MV Photon Beam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patwe, P; Mhatre, V; Dandekar, P [Sir HN RF Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Indigenous Farmer type chamber FAR 65 GB is a reference class 0.6 cc ion chamber. It can be used for dosimetric evaluation of photon and high energy electron beams. We studied dosimetric characteristics of the chamber for 6MV and 10MV Flattening filter free FFF photon beams available on trueBEAM STx Linac. Methods: The study was carried out on trueBEAM STx Linac having 6 and 10 MV FFF photon beam with maximum dose rate 1400 and 2400 MU per min respectively. The dosimetric device to be evaluated is Rosalina Instruments FAR 65-GB Ion Chamber with active volume 0.65 cc, total active length 23.1cm, inner diameter of cylinder 6.2mm, wall thickness 0.4mm, inner electrode diameter 1mm. Inner and outer electrodes are made from Aluminium 2.7 gm per cc and graphite 1.82 gm per cc respectively. The ion chamber was placed along central axis of beam at 10cm depth and irradiated for 10cm × 10cm field size at SAD of 100 cm in plastic phantom. We studied Precision, Dose Linearity, Dose Rate dependence, directional dependence, Recombination effect. Recombination effect was determined using standard two-voltage method. Results: 1. Measurements were reproducible std deviation of 0.0105 and type A uncertainty 0.003265 under same set of reference conditions 2. Chamber exhibit dose linearity over a wider dose range. 3. Chamber shows dose rate independence for all available dose rate range. 4. Response of chamber with the angle of incidence of radiation is constant. 5. Recombination correction factors were 1.01848 and 1.02537 for dose rate 1400 and 2400 MU per min resp. Conclusion: Our study reveals that the chamber is prone to saturation effect at dose rate of 2400 MU per min. FAR 65-GB can be used for reference dosimetry of FFF MV photon beam with proper calculation of recombination effect.

New beam-position monitor system for upgraded Photon Factory storage ring.

Science.gov (United States)

Haga, K; Honda, T; Tadano, M; Obina, T; Kasuga, T

1998-05-01

Accompanying the brilliance-upgrading project at the Photon Factory storage ring, the beam-position monitor (BPM) system has been renovated. The new system was designed to enable precise and fast measurements to correct the closed-orbit distortion (COD), as well as to feed back the orbit position during user runs. There are 42 BPMs newly installed, amounting to a total of 65 BPMs. All of the BPMs are calibrated on the test bench using a coaxially strung metallic wire. The measured electrical offsets are typically 200 micro m in both directions, which is 1/2-1/3 of those of the old-type BPMs. In the signal-processing system, PIN diode switches are employed in order to improve reliability. In the fastest mode, this system is capable of measuring COD within about 10 ms; this fast acquisition will allow fast suppression of the beam movement for frequencies up to 50 Hz using a global feedback system.

Excitation of accelerating plasma waves by counter-propagating laser beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shvets, Gennady; Fisch, Nathaniel J.; Pukhov, Alexander

2002-01-01

The conventional approach to exciting high phase velocity waves in plasmas is to employ a laser pulse moving in the direction of the desired particle acceleration. Photon downshifting then causes momentum transfer to the plasma and wave excitation. Novel approaches to plasma wake excitation, colliding-beam accelerator (CBA), which involve photon exchange between the long and short counter-propagating laser beams, are described. Depending on the frequency detuning Δω between beams and duration τ L of the short pulse, there are two approaches to CBA. First approach assumes (τ L ≅2/ω p ). Photons exchanged between the beams deposit their recoil momentum in the plasma driving the plasma wake. Frequency detuning between the beams determines the direction of the photon exchange, thereby controlling the phase of the plasma wake. This phase control can be used for reversing the slippage of the accelerated particles with respect to the wake. A variation on the same theme, super-beatwave accelerator, is also described. In the second approach, a short pulse with τ L >>ω p -1 detuned by Δω∼2ω p from the counter-propagating beam is employed. While parametric excitation of plasma waves by the electromagnetic beatwave at 2ω p of two co-propagating lasers was first predicted by Rosenbluth and Liu [M. N. Rosenbluth and C. S. Liu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 701 (1972)], it is demonstrated that the two excitation beams can be counter-propagating. The advantages of using this geometry (higher instability growth rate, insensitivity to plasma inhomogeneity) are explained, and supporting numerical simulations presented

3D holographic polymer photonic crystal for superprism application

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jiaqi; Jiang, Wei; Chen, Xiaonan; Wang, Li; Zhang, Sasa; Chen, Ray T.

2007-02-01

Photonic crystal based superprism offers a new way to design new optical components for beam steering and DWDM application. 3D photonic crystals are especially attractive as they could offer more control of the light beam based on the needs. A polygonal prism based holographic fabrication method has been demonstrated for a three-dimensional face-centered-cubic (FCC)-type submicron polymer photonic crystal using SU8 as the photo-sensitive material. Therefore antivibration equipment and complicated optical alignment system are not needed and the requirement for the coherence of the laser source is relaxed compared with the traditional holographic setup. By changing the top-cut prism structure, the polarization of the laser beam, the exposure and development conditions we can achieve different kinds of triclinic or orthorhombic photonic crystals on demand. Special fabrication treatments have been introduced to ensure the survivability of the fabricated large area (cm2) nano-structures. Scanning electron microscopy and diffraction results proved the good uniformity of the fabricated structures. With the proper design of the refraction prism we have achieved a partial bandgap for S+C band (1460-1565nm) in the [111] direction. The transmission and reflection spectra obtained by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) are in good agreement with simulated band structure. The superprism effects around 1550nm wavelength for the fabricated 3D polymer photonic crystal have been theoretically calculated and such effects can be used for beam steering purpose.

Relative measurements of fast neutron contamination in 18-MV photon beams from two linear accelerators and a betatron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gur, D.; Bukovitz, A.G.; Rosen, J.C.; Holmes, B.G.

1979-01-01

Fast neutron contamination in photon beams in the 20 MV range have been reported in recent years. In order to determine if the variations were due mainly to differences in measurement procedures, or inherent in the design of the accelerators, three different 18-MV (BJR) photon beams were compared using identical analytical techniques. The units studied were a Philips SL/75-20 and a Siemens Mevatron-20 linear accelerators and a Schimadzu betatron. Gamma spectroscopy of an activated aluminum foil was the method used. By comparing the relative amounts of neutron contamination, errors associated with absolute measurements such as detector efficiency and differences in activation foils were eliminated. Fast neutron contaminations per rad of x rays in a ratio of 6.7:3.7:1 were found for the Philips, Schimadzu and Siemens accelerators, respectively

Beam Loss Simulation Studies for ALS Top-Off Operation

CERN Document Server

Nishimura, Hiroshi; Robin, David; Steier, Christoph

2005-01-01

The ALS is planning to operate with top-off injection at higher beam currents and smaller vertical beam size. As part of a radiation safety study for top-off, we carried out two kinds of tracking studies: (1) to confirm that the injected beam cannot go into users' photon beam lines, and (2) to control the location of beam dump when the storage ring RF is tripped. (1) is done by tracking electrons from a photon beam line to the injection sector inversely by including the magnetic field profiles, varying the field strength with geometric aperture limits to conclude that it is impossible. (2) is done by tracking an electron with radiation in the 6-dim space for different combinations of vertical scrapers for the realistic lattice with errors.

First light on 3d photoionization of multiply charged xenon ions: a new photon-ion merged beam setup at PETRA III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ricz, S; Schippers, S; Buhr, T; Holste, K; Jr, A Borovik; Hellhund, J; Schäfer, H-J; Schury, D; Klumpp, S; Mertens, K; Martins, M; Flesch, R; Ulrich, G; Rühl, E; Lower, J; Jahnke, T; Metz, D; Schmidt, L; Schöffler, M; Williams, J B

2014-01-01

A photon-ion merged beam endstation has been set up at the variable polarization XUV-beamline P04 of PETRA III in Hamburg. In a commissioning experiment first results could be obtained for multiple photoionization of Xe q+ ions (q = 1,2,..,5) at photon energies around the 3d ionization threshold.

Absorbed dose beam quality factors for cylindrical ion chambers: Experimental determination at 6 and 15 MV photon beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caporali, C; Guerra, A S; Laitano, R F; Pimpinella, M [ENEA-Casaccia, Inst. Nazionale di Meterologia delle Radiazioni Ionizzanti, Rome (Italy). Dipt. Ambiente

1996-08-01

Ion chambers calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to water need an additional factor conventionally designed by k{sub Q} in order to determine the absorbed dose. The quantity k{sub Q} depends on beam quality and chamber characteristics. Rogers and Andreo provided calculations of the k{sub Q} factors for most commercially available ionization chambers for clinical dosimetry. Experimental determinations of the k{sub Q} factors for a number of cylindrical ion chambers have been made and are compared with the calculated values so far published. Measurements were made at 6 MV and 15 MV clinical photon beams at a point in water phantom where the ion chambers and a Fricke dosimeter were alternatively irradiated. The uncertainty on the experimental k{sub Q} factors resulted about {+-} 0.6%. The theoretical and experimental k{sub Q} values are in fairly good agreement. (author). 12 refs, 3 tabs.

Parallel processing of dose calculation for external photon beam therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunieda, Etsuo; Ando, Yutaka; Tsukamoto, Nobuhiro; Ito, Hisao; Kubo, Atsushi

1994-01-01

We implemented external photon beam dose calculation programs into a parallel processor system consisting of Transputers, 32-bit processors especially suitable for multi-processor configuration. Two network conformations, binary-tree and pipeline, were evaluated for rectangular and irregular field dose calculation algorithms. Although computation speed increased in proportion to the number of CPU, substantial overhead caused by inter-processor communication occurred when a smaller computation load was delivered to each processor. On the other hand, for irregular field calculation, which requires more computation capability for each calculation point, the communication overhead was still less even when more than 50 processors were involved. Real-time responses could be expected for more complex algorithms by increasing the number of processors. (author)

Twin photonic nanojets generated from coherent illumination of microscale sphere and cylinder

Science.gov (United States)

Poteet, Austen; Zhang, Xu A.; Nagai, Hironori; Chang, Chih-Hao

2018-02-01

Photonic nanojets, highly focused beams of light created by planar illumination of a microsphere, have been shown to produce narrow subwavelength beams over distances of several wavelengths in the near field. In this work, we investigate the generation of twin photonic nanojets through the illumination of a microsphere or cylinder from two coherent sources with relative phase shift. Under these conditions, symmetric twin nanojets separated by an intensity null can be generated. Compared to a photonic nanojet, the twin nanojets can achieve an even smaller subwavelength beam, and have the added advantage of having more complex intensity profiles that can be controlled by multiple parameters. Using both finite-difference time-domain and Mie theory models, the width, length, and intensity enhancement factor of the nanojet geometry are found to be functions of the phase, angle offsets, and particle geometry. Such twin photonic nanojets can find applications in optical trapping, manipulation, nanolithography, and enhancement of nonlinear optical properties.

An analysis of depth dose characteristics of photon in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buzdar, S.A.; Rao, M.A.; Nazir, A.

2009-01-01

Photon beam is most widely being used for radiation therapy. Biological effect of radiation is concerned with the evaluation of energy absorbed in the tissues. It was aimed to analyse the depth dose characteristics of x-ray beams of diverse energies to enhance the quality of radiotherapy treatment planning. Depth dose characteristics of different energy photon beams in water have been analysed. Photon beam is attenuated by the medium and the transmitted beam with less intensity causes lesser absorbed dose as depth increases. Relative attenuation on certain points on the beam axis and certain percentage of doses on different depths for available energies has been investigated. Photon beam depth dose characteristics do not show identical attributes as interaction of x-ray with matter is mainly governed by beam quality. Attenuation and penetration parameters of photon show variation with dosimetric parameters like field size due to scattering and Source to Surface Distance due to inverse square law, but the major parameter in photon interactions is its energy. Detailed analysis of photon Depth Dose characteristics helps to select appropriate beam for radiotherapy treatment when variety of beam energies available. Evaluation of this type of characteristics will help to establish theoretical relationships between dosimetric parameters to confirm measured values of dosimetric quantities, and hence to increase accuracy in radiotherapy treatment. (author)

Controllable optical bistability in photonic-crystal one-atom laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Xiaoyong; Lue Shuchen

2009-01-01

We investigate the property of optical bistability in a photonic-crystal one-atom laser when nonlinear microcavity is present. The physical system consists of a coherently driven two-level light emitter strongly coupled to a high-quality microcavity which is embedded within a photonic crystal and another coherent probing field which has incident into the microcavity. In our case, the microcavity is fabricated by nonlinear material and placed as an impurity in photonic crystal. This study reveals that such a system can exhibit optical bistability. The dependence of threshold value and hysteresis loop on the photonic band gap of the photonic crystal, driving field Rabi frequency and dephasing processes, are studied. Our results clearly illustrate the ability to control optical bistability through suitable photonic-crystal architectures and external coherent driving field, and this study suggests that in a photonic-crystal nonlinear microcavity, the one-atom laser acts as an effective controllable bistable device in the design of all-light digital computing systems in the near future.

Comparison of Flattening Filter (FF) and Flattening-Filter-Free (FFF) 6 MV photon beam characteristics for small field dosimetry using EGSnrc Monte Carlo code

Science.gov (United States)

Sangeetha, S.; Sureka, C. S.

2017-06-01

The present study is focused to compare the characteristics of Varian Clinac 600 C/D flattened and unflattened 6 MV photon beams for small field dosimetry using EGSnrc Monte Carlo Simulation since the small field dosimetry is considered to be the most crucial and provoking task in the field of radiation dosimetry. A 6 MV photon beam of a Varian Clinac 600 C/D medical linear accelerator operates with Flattening Filter (FF) and Flattening-Filter-Free (FFF) mode for small field dosimetry were performed using EGSnrc Monte Carlo user codes (BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc) in order to calculate the beam characteristics using Educated-trial and error method. These includes: Percentage depth dose, lateral beam profile, dose rate delivery, photon energy spectra, photon beam uniformity, out-of-field dose, surface dose, penumbral dose and output factor for small field dosimetry (0.5×0.5 cm2 to 4×4 cm2) and are compared with magna-field sizes (5×5 cm2 to 40×40 cm2) at various depths. The results obtained showed that the optimized beam energy and Full-width-half maximum value for small field dosimetry and magna-field dosimetry was found to be 5.7 MeV and 0.13 cm for both FF and FFF beams. The depth of dose maxima for small field size deviates minimally for both FF and FFF beams similar to magna-fields. The depths greater than dmax depicts a steeper dose fall off in the exponential region for FFF beams comparing FF beams where its deviations gets increased with the increase in field size. The shape of the lateral beam profiles of FF and FFF beams varies remains similar for the small field sizes less than 4×4 cm2 whereas it varies in the case of magna-fields. Dose rate delivery for FFF beams shows an eminent increase with a two-fold factor for both small field dosimetry and magna-field sizes. The surface dose measurements of FFF beams for small field size were found to be higher whereas it gets lower for magna-fields than FF beam. The amount of out-of-field dose reduction gets

Development of a Hard X-ray Beam Position Monitor for Insertion Device Beams at the APS

Science.gov (United States)

Decker, Glenn; Rosenbaum, Gerd; Singh, Om

2006-11-01

Long-term pointing stability requirements at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) are very stringent, at the level of 500 nanoradians peak-to-peak or better over a one-week time frame. Conventional rf beam position monitors (BPMs) close to the insertion device source points are incapable of assuring this level of stability, owing to mechanical, thermal, and electronic stability limitations. Insertion device gap-dependent systematic errors associated with the present ultraviolet photon beam position monitors similarly limit their ability to control long-term pointing stability. We report on the development of a new BPM design sensitive only to hard x-rays. Early experimental results will be presented.

Frequency splitter based on the directional emission from surface modes in dielectric photonic crystal structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Tasolamprou, Anna C; Zhang, Lei; Kafesaki, Maria; Koschny, Thomas; Soukoulis, Costas M

2015-06-01

We demonstrate the numerical design and the experimental validation of frequency dependent directional emission from a dielectric photonic crystal structure. The wave propagates through a photonic crystal line-defect waveguide, while a surface layer at the termination of the photonic crystal enables the excitation of surface modes and a subsequent grating layer transforms the surface energy into outgoing propagating waves of the form of a directional beam. The angle of the beam is controlled by the frequency and the structure operates as a frequency splitter in the intermediate and far field region.

Characterization of the phantom material virtual water in high-energy photon and electron beams.

Science.gov (United States)

McEwen, M R; Niven, D

2006-04-01

The material Virtual Water has been characterized in photon and electron beams. Range-scaling factors and fluence correction factors were obtained, the latter with an uncertainty of around 0.2%. This level of uncertainty means that it may be possible to perform dosimetry in a solid phantom with an accuracy approaching that of measurements in water. Two formulations of Virtual Water were investigated with nominally the same elemental composition but differing densities. For photon beams neither formulation showed exact water equivalence-the water/Virtual Water dose ratio varied with the depth of measurement with a difference of over 1% at 10 cm depth. However, by using a density (range) scaling factor very good agreement (water and Virtual Water at all depths was obtained. In the case of electron beams a range-scaling factor was also required to match the shapes of the depth dose curves in water and Virtual Water. However, there remained a difference in the measured fluence in the two phantoms after this scaling factor had been applied. For measurements around the peak of the depth-dose curve and the reference depth this difference showed some small energy dependence but was in the range 0.1%-0.4%. Perturbation measurements have indicated that small slabs of material upstream of a detector have a small (<0.1% effect) on the chamber reading but material behind the detector can have a larger effect. This has consequences for the design of experiments and in the comparison of measurements and Monte Carlo-derived values.

Development of a silicon microstrip detector with single photon sensitivity for fast dynamic diffraction experiments at a synchrotron radiation beam

Science.gov (United States)

Arakcheev, A.; Aulchenko, V.; Kudashkin, D.; Shekhtman, L.; Tolochko, B.; Zhulanov, V.

2017-06-01

Time-resolved experiments on the diffraction of synchrotron radiation (SR) from crystalline materials provide information on the evolution of a material structure after a heat, electron beam or plasma interaction with a sample under study. Changes in the material structure happen within a microsecond scale and a detector with corresponding parameters is needed. The SR channel 8 of the VEPP-4M storage ring provides radiation from the 7-pole wiggler that allows to reach several tens photons within one μs from a tungsten crystal for the most intensive diffraction peak. In order to perform experiments that allow to measure the evolution of tungsten crystalline structure under the impact of powerful laser beam, a new detector is developed, that can provide information about the distribution of a scattered SR flux in space and its evolution in time at a microsecond scale. The detector is based on the silicon p-in-n microstrip sensor with DC-coupled metal strips. The sensor contains 1024 30 mm long strips with a 50 μm pitch. 64 strips are bonded to the front-end electronics based on APC128 ASICs. The APC128 ASIC contains 128 channels that consist of a low noise integrator with 32 analogue memory cells each. The integrator equivalent noise charge is about 2000 electrons and thus the signal from individual photons with energy above 40 keV can be observed. The signal can be stored at the analogue memory with 10 MHz rate. The first measurements with the beam scattered from a tungsten crystal with energy near 60 keV demonstrated the capability of this prototype to observe the spatial distribution of the photon flux with the intensity from below one photon per channel up to 0~10 photons per channel with a frame rate from 10 kHz up to 1 MHz.

Dose determination in radiotherapy for photon beams modified by static intensity modulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castellanos Lopez, M.E.

1998-01-01

The static intensity modulators, used in radiotherapy, modify the spectral composition of the beam and lead to specific problems of the dose calculation. The aim of this work was to establish a three dimensional calculation, global and accurate, adapted to the primary-diffused separation algorithm and valid for any static modulator type. A theoretical study, experimentally verified, allowed the evaluation of the primary fluence, resulting from metallic sheets placed between photons beams of 6 to 23 MV nominal energy. It has been showed that the diffused, coming from the modulators, could be neglected for weak thickness and for the relative dose variation. In return it leads to significant variations of many % on the absolute dose and must be take into account for the bigger thicknesses. Corrective methods for the primary fluence have been proposed. From the energy spectra of the beam, the metallic modulator influence has been studied on the primary and diffused components of the dose and improvements of the calculation method have been proposed. These improvements are based on the modulator representation as a transmission matrix and on semi-empirical corrective factors. (A.L.B.)

Controlling gain one photon at a time

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Gregory W; Rieke, Fred

2013-01-01

Adaptation is a salient property of sensory processing. All adaptational or gain control mechanisms face the challenge of obtaining a reliable estimate of the property of the input to be adapted to and obtaining this estimate sufficiently rapidly to be useful. Here, we explore how the primate retina balances the need to change gain rapidly and reliably when photons arrive rarely at individual rod photoreceptors. We find that the weakest backgrounds that decrease the gain of the retinal output signals are similar to those that increase human behavioral threshold, and identify a novel site of gain control in the retinal circuitry. Thus, surprisingly, the gain of retinal signals begins to decrease essentially as soon as background lights are detectable; under these conditions, gain control does not rely on a highly averaged estimate of the photon count, but instead signals from individual photon absorptions trigger changes in gain. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00467.001 PMID:23682314

Detection system for forward emitted XUV photons from relativistic ion beams at the ESR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Egelkamp, C.; Hannen, V.; Ortjohann, H.W.; Vollbrecht, J.; Weinheimer, C.; Winzen, D. [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Uni Muenster (Germany); Kuehl, T. [Institut fuer Kernchemie, Uni Mainz (Germany); GSI, Darmstadt (Germany); Helmholtz Institut Jena (Germany); Noertershaeuser, W. [Institut fuer Kernchemie, Uni Mainz (Germany); GSI, Darmstadt (Germany); Sanchez, R.; Winters, D. [GSI, Darmstadt (Germany); Stoehlker, T. [GSI, Darmstadt (Germany); Helmholtz Institut Jena (Germany); Uni Jena (Germany)

2016-07-01

Highly charged heavy ions stored at relativistic velocities provide a unique possibility to test atomic structure calculations. A possibility to investigate electron-electron correlations is the study of the {sup 3}P{sub 0} → {sup 3}P{sub 1} fine structure transition in Be-like Krypton ({sup 84}Kr{sup 32+}) in laser spectroscopy experiments. For this purpose Be-like krypton ions are stored in the experimental storage ring (ESR) at GSI at a velocity of β = 0.69. Through an anticollinear arrangement of the excitation laser and the ions the wavelength in the rest frame of the ions can be matched. After the excitation to the {sup 3}P{sub 1} level the ions immediately decay to the ground state, emitting λ ∼ 17 nm photons. Due to the Lorentz boost, the photons are emitted mainly in the forward direction and experience a Doppler shift to wavelengths < 10 nm. To collect these photons a moveable cathode plate with a central slit is brought into the beam line. The XUV photons mostly produce low energy secondary electrons on the plate which are electromagnetically guided onto a MCP detector. The design and working principle, as well as simulations and test measurements of the detector are presented.

Smart x-ray beam position monitor system for the Advanced Photon Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shu, D.; Kuzay, T.

1996-01-01

In third-generation synchrotron radiation sources, such as the Advanced Photon Source (APS), the sensitivity and reliability requirements for the x-ray beam position monitors (XBPMs) are much higher than for earlier systems. Noise and contamination signals caused by radiation emitted from the bending magnet become a major problem. The regular XBPM calibration process can only provide signal correction for one set of conditions for the insertion devices (ID). During normal operation, parameters affecting the ID-emitted beam, such as the gap of the ID magnets and the beam current, are the variables. A new smart x-ray beam position monitor system (SBPM) has been conceived and designed for the APS. It has a built in self-learning structure with EEPROM memory that is large enough to open-quote open-quote remember close-quote close-quote a complete set of calibration data covering all the possible operating conditions. During the self-learning mode, the monitor system initializes a series of automatic scan motions with information for different ID setups and records them into the database array. During normal operation, the SBPM corrects the normalized output according to the ID setup information and the calibration database. So that, with this novel system, the SBPM is always calibrating itself with the changing ID set up conditions. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

A comparison of protocols for external beam radiotherapy beam calibrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeed Al-Ahbabi, Salma; Bradley, D.A.; Beyomi, M.; Alkatib, Z.; Adhaheri, S.; Darmaki, M.; Nisbet, A.

2012-01-01

A number of codes of practice (CoP) for electron and photon radiotherapy beam dosimetry are currently in use. Comparison is made of the more widely used of these, specifically those of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA TRS-398), the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM TG-51) and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM 2003). All are based on calibration of ionization chambers in terms of absorbed dose to water, each seeking to reduce uncertainty in delivered dose, providing an even stronger system of primary standards than previous air-kerma based approaches. They also provide a firm, traceable and straight-forward formalism. Included in making dose assessments for the three CoP are calibration coefficients for a range of beam quality indices. Measurements have been performed using clinical photon and electron beams, the absorbed dose to water being obtained following the recommendations given by each code. Electron beam comparisons have been carried out using measurements for electron beams of nominal energies 6, 9, 12, 16 and 20 MeV. Comparisons were also carried out for photon beams of nominal energies 6 and 18 MV. For photon beams use was made of NE2571 cylindrical graphite walled ionization chambers, cross-calibrated against an NE2611 Secondary Standard; for electron beams, PTW Markus and NACP-02 plane-parallel chambers were used. Irradiations were made using Varian 600C/2100C linacs, supported by water tanks and Virtual Water™ phantoms. The absorbed doses for photon and electron beams obtained following these CoP are all in good agreement, with deviations of less than 2%. A number of studies have been carried out by different groups in different countries to examine the consistency of dosimetry codes of practice or protocols. The aim of these studies is to confirm that the goal of those codes is met, namely uniformity in establishment of dosimetry of all radiation beam types used in cancer therapy in the world