The effect of laser beam size on laser-induced damage performance

The influence of laser beam size on laser-induced damage performance, especially damage probability and the laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT）, is investigated. It is found that damage probability is dependent on beam size when various damage precursors with different potential behaviors are involved. This causes the damage probability and the LIDT to be different between cases under a large-apertnre beam and a small-aperture beam. Moreover, the fluenee fluctuation of the large-aperture laser beam brings out hot spots, which move randomly across the beam from shot to shot. Thus this leads the most probable maximum fluenee after many shots at any location on the optical component to be several times the average beam fluence, These two effects result in the difference in the damage performance of the optical component between the cases under a large-aperture and small-aperture laser.

Design and development of the beamline for a proton therapy system

A proton therapy(PT)facility with multiple treatment rooms based on the superconducting cyclotron scheme is under development at Huazhong University of Science and Technology(HUST).This paper attempts to describe the design considerations and implementation of the PT beamline from a systematic viewpoint.Design considerations covering beam optics and the influence of high-order aberrations,beam energy/intensity modulation,and beam orbit correction are described.In addition to the technical implementation of the main beamline components and subsystems,including the energy degrader,fast kicker,beamline magnets,beam diagnostic system,and beamline control system are introduced.

Creation of Multiple Subwavelength Focal Spot Segments Using Phase Modulated Radially Polarized Multi Gaussian Beam

Based on the vector diffraction theory, the effect of complex phase filters on intensity distribution of a radially polarized multi Gaussian beam in the focal region of high NA lens is theoretically investigated. It is observed that a properly designed multi belt complex phase filter can generate subwavelength novel focal patterns including splitting of focal spots and generation of multiple focal spot segments such as eight, six and four focal spots along the optical axis are obtained. We expect that such an investigation is useful for optical manipulation and material processing, multiple high refractive index particle trapping technologies.

Tight Focusing Properties of Phase Modulated Radially Polarized Laguerre Bessel Gaussian Beam

We propose a new approach for generating a multiple focal spot segment of subwavelength size, by tight focusing of a phase modulated radially polarized Laguerre Bessel Gaussian beam. The focusing properties are investigated theoretically by .vector diffraction theory. We observe that the focal segment with multiple focal structures is separated with different axial distances and a super long dark channel can be generated by properly tuning the phase of the incident radially polarized Laguerre Bessel Gaussian beam. We presume that such multiple focal patterns and high intense beam may find applications in atom optics, optical manipulations and multiple optical trapping.

Dosimetric evaluation of VMAT radiation therapy technique for breast cancer after conservative surgery based on three different types of multileaf collimators

Objective Radiotherapy combined with conservative surgery plays an important role in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer. Volumetric modulated arc therapy(VMAT) has been introduced into clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the dosimetric effects of different multileaf collimators(MLC) on VMAT radiotherapy plans for treating breast cancer.Methods Fifteen breast cancer patients who were treated using a conventional technique in our department were selected to participate in this retrospective analysis. VMAT plans based on three types of Elekta MLCs [Beam Modulator(BM) with 4-mm leaf width, Agility with 5-mm leaf width and MLCi2 with 10-mm leaf width] were independently generated for each patient. Plan comparisons were performed based on dose-volume histogram(DVH) analysis including dosimetric parameters such as the homogeneity index(HI), conformity index(CI), Dmax, Dmin, and Dmean for the planning treatment volume(PTV), in addition to dose-volume parameters for the organs at risk(OARs). The delivery efficiency of the three types of MLCs was compared in terms of the beam delivery time and the monitor units(MUs) per fraction for each plan. Results Both target uniformity and conformity were improved in plans for Agility and BM MLC compared with the plan using MLCi2. The mean HI decreased from 1.14 for MLCi2 to 1.13 for BM and 1.10 for Agility, while the mean CI increased from 0.68 for MLCi2 to 0.73 for BM and 0.75 for Agility. Furthermore, at both low and high dose levels, smaller volumes of ipsilateral lung, heart, contralateral lung, and breast were irradiated with Agility MLC than with the other two types of MLCs. The delivery time with Agility MLC was reduced by 10.8% and 32.1%, respectively, compared with that for MLCi2 and BM.Conclusion Our results indicate that the Agility MLC exhibits a dosimetric advantage and a significant improvement in delivery efficiency for the treatment of breast cancer using VMAT.