Measuring^(222)Rn in aquatic environment via Pulsed Ionization Chamber Radon Detector

Radon(Rn)is a naturally occurring radioactive inert gas in nature,and^(222)Rn has been routinely used as a powerful tracer in various aquatic environmental research on timescales of hours to days,such as submarine groundwater discharge.Here we developed a new approach to measure^(222)Rn in discrete water samples with a wide range of^(222)Rn concentrations using a Pulsed Ionization Chamber(PIC)Radon Detector.The sensitivity of the new PIC system is evaluated at 6.06 counts per minute for 1 Bq/L when a 500 mL water sample volume is used.A robust logarithmic correlation between sample volumes,ranging from 250 mL to 5000 mL,and system sensitivity obtained in this study strongly suggests that this approach is suitable for measuring radon concentration levels in various natural waters.Compared to the currently available methods for measuring radon in grab samples,the PIC system is cheaper,easier to operate and does not require extra accessories(e.g.,drying tubes etc.)to maintain stable measurements throughout the counting procedure.

Collection efficiency of a monitor parallel plate ionization chamber for pencil beam scanning proton therapy

The collection efficiency of monitor parallel plate ionization chambers is the main uncertainty in the beam control of pencil beam scanning systems.Existing calculation methods for collection efficiency in photon or passive scattering proton systems have not considered the characteristics of non-uniform charge density in pencil beam scanning systems.In this study,Boag’s theory was applied to a proton pencil beam scanning system.The transverse distribution of charge density in the ionization chamber was considered to be a Gaussian function and an analytical solution was derived to calculate collection efficiency in the beam spot area.This calculation method is called the integral method and it was used to investigate the effects of beam parameters on collection efficiency.It was determined that collection efficiency is positively correlated with applied voltage,beam size,and beam energy,but negatively correlated with beam current intensity.Additionally,it was confirmed that collection efficiency is improved when the air filling the monitor parallel plate ionization chamber is replaced with nitrogen.

Simulation and prototype testing of multi-wire drift chamber arrays for the CEE

The building of a large-scale external-target experiment, abbreviated as CEE, in the cooling storage ring at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou has been planned. The CEE is a multi-purpose spectrometer that will be used for various studies on heavy-ion collisions. A multi-wire drift chamber(MWDC) array is the forward tracking detector of the CEE. In this work, GEANT4 simulations were performed for the MWDC forward tracking array with a focus on the track reconstruction algorithm. Combined with the time of flight information,particle identification is achieved. The residue is about 30 μm, while the tracking efficiency is higher than 90%with the current redundancy. In addition, a prototype of the forward tracking system using three MWDCs was assembled and tested using a high-energy proton beam. The firing efficiency of the detector and the reconstruction accuracy of the prototype were derived. The track residue for the protons at about 400 MeV/c is better than 300 μm, meeting the requirements of the CEE. Suggestions for improving the performance of the forward tracking system are given.

Ionization Chamber Dosimetry for Conventional and Laser-Driven Clinical Hadron Beams

The practice of using the direct ionization radiation (electrons, protons, antiprotons, pions, ions, etc) or of the indirect ionization radiation (photons, neutrons, etc) in economy and social life has led to the introduction of the absorbed dose magnitude (ICRU 1953) defined as the energy absorbed per mass unit of the irradiated substance. This is a fundamental magnitude valid for any type of ionizing radiation, any irradiated material and any radiation energy. In case of clinical hadron beams generated by conventional accelerators or those controlled by lasers, IAEA TRS 398 recommends the absorbed dose to water. This may be determined employing the calorimeter method with water or graphite, chemical method, fluence based measurements as Faraday cups or activation measurements, and the ionization chamber method. In this paper the selected method was the thimble air filled ionization chamber method for determination of absorbed dose to water.

Simulation method for measurement of the cross-section of the^(14)N(n,a)^(11)B reaction using a gridded ionization chamber

A simulation method for measurement of the cross-section of the^(14)N(n,a)^(11)B reaction with gas and solid samples using a gridded ionization chamber(GIC)has been established.Using the simulation,the experimental spectra of both^(14)N(n,a)^(11)B events and background from other reactions can be predicted,and the experimental scheme can be optimized.According to the simulation results,the optimal experimental parameters,including the pressure of the working gas and the compositions of the working gas and the sample,can be determined.In addition,the simulation results can be used to determine the valid event area and calculate the detection efficiency for valid events.A measurement of the cross-sections of the^(14)N(n,a)^(11)B reaction at E_(n)=4.25,4.50,4.75,5.00,5.25,and 5.50 MeV,based on the 4.5-MV Van de Graff accelerator at Peking University(PKU)using a GIC as the detector for the outgoing a particles,has been performed.The good agreement of the spectra from the simulation and experiment demonstrated the universality of this simulation method,which can be used to accurately measure neutroninduced light-charged particle emission reactions.

A SPHERICAL GRAPHITE IONIZATION CHAMBER

This paper describes an exposure ratemeter made of graphite ion chamber. The sensitive volume is 14 cm^3. The wall is 5 mm in thickness. The DC amplifier with a high input impedance consists of several stage differential amplifications, and is used for measurement of the ionization currents. Six ranges are able to cover a wide range of exposure rates. The full scale of the maximum range is 75 C/(kg·h). The lowest measurable limit is 5 mC/(kg·h). The zero drift within 8 h is less than 5% of each full scale. This instrument provides with a relatively convenient method for the measurement. The main advantages of the ionization chamber over other methods lie in rapidity and accuracy, and the change in radiation field with time can be indicated directly. It is particularly successful in acting as a routine dosimeter under high exposure rates.

LET Monitoring Using Liquid Ionization Chambers

Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) is an important quantity in planning particle beam cancer therapy. In general, the RBE describes the biological effectiveness of a given primary beam with respect to a reference photon irradiation. RBE varies not only for different primary beams but also with depth in the target for a given beam modality. It is not a quantity that easily lends itself to measurements or computation as it depends on many biological and physical quantities. Numerous experiments in vitro using various cell lines and irradiation modalities have shown that a general relationship between RBE and the physical quantity Linear Energy Transfer (LET) exists. Several groups have proposed including LET in the radiation therapy treatment planning instead of the more complicated and elusive RBE. It has been shown that LET is an important quantity to consider in treating radio-resistant tumors. The concept of LET painting has been proposed with the goal of improving tumor control probability (TCP) for hypoxic tumors by focusing high LET radiation on the hypoxic region of the tumor while restricting the surrounding normal tissue to low LET radiation. In order to properly incorporate LET in clinical treatment, it is important to be able to experimentally measure and verify LET distribution. We propose a novel method for measuring LET using a dual chamber methodology exploiting the difference in the observed recombination between air filled ionization chambers (IC) and liquid filled ionization chambers (LIC). The resulting difference in the measured signals will be used to directly extract the relative LET of an actual treatment beam in real time. This paper describes our initial studies of this method, presents preliminary results, and discusses further improvements toward a practical real-time LET measuring device.

Saturation characteristics of low voltage ionization chamber filled with argon or xenon

Argon and xenon are both attractive working gas for low voltage ionization chamber(LVIC),which is a promising candidate for ITER X-ray detectors.In this work,the performances of Arfilling LVIC(Ar-LVIC)and Xe-filling LVIC(Xe-LVIC)as well as the impacts of operation parameters were investigated.Saturation curves of Ar-LVIC and Xe-LVIC with pressure from 0.4 to 1.2 bar were measured with a tungsten X-ray source.The minimum voltage of saturation region(V_(min))of Ar-LVIC and Xe-LVIC,the relationship between V_(min)and saturation current,the ideal operating voltage in ITER and impacts of pressure on saturation current were studied.It was found that Ar-LVIC had smaller V_(min)and saturation currents which decreased with the drop of pressure from 1.2 to 0.4 bar;Xe-LVIC had larger V_(min)and saturation currents which did not obviously decrease with the same pressure drop.It is envisaged that ITER can take advantage of the larger saturation current and lower pressure of Xe-LVIC in the non-nuclear operation phase,and flexibility of pressure and low sensitivity to neutron/gamma radiation of Ar-LVIC in the nuclear operation phase.

Absorbed Dose to Water Rate in a Cyberknife VSI System Reference Field Using Ionization Chambers and Gafchromic Films

This work investigated the absorbed dose to water rate under reference conditions in a Cyberknife VSI system using radiochromic films EBT3 and MD-V3 and three ionization chambers: an Exradin A12 and two FC65P Welhöfer Scanditronix with different serial numbers. The correction factor,, was studied using a Varian iX linac and the Cyberknife system. The measurements in the Varian iX were performed in a 10 × 10 cm2 field, 10 cm depth in liquid water at 90 cm and 70 cm SSD and in a 5.4 × 5.4 cm2 field, 10 cm depth at 70 cm SSD to simulate the Cyberknife conditions. In the Cyberknife system, measurements were performed using ionization chambers and both film types at 70 cm SSD and 10 cm depth in its 6 cm diameter reference field. The results indicate that ?is independent of the dosimeters and the evaluation methods. Maximum differences of 0.22% - 0.55% (combined uncertainties of 1.22% - 1.98%, k = 1) are obtained on ?using Varian iX, whereas discrepancies of 2.08% - 2.09% (combined uncertainties of 1.87% - 2.13%, k = 1) are observed using the Cyberknife system. Given the agreement between detectors and the combined standard uncertainties, the data from Varian iX could be considered the most accurate and consequently a weighted average factor of 0.902 ± 0.006 could be used for the Cyberknife VSI system reference field. Within measurement uncertainties, the absorbed dose rate measured in the Cyberknife VSI system reference field was found to be independent of the dosimeters used. These results suggest that the absorbed dose measured at a point within a given field size should be the same, regardless the dosimeter used, if their dosimetric characteristics are well known. This highlighted the importance of performing dosimetry by controlling all parameters that could affect the dosimeter response. One can conclude that radiochromic film dosimetry can be considered as an appropriate alternative for measuring absorbed dose to water rate.

Use of a 2-Dimensional Ionization Chamber Array to Measure Head Leakage of a Varian Truebeam^®Linear Accelerator

The purpose of this work is to evaluate the use of a two-dimensional (2D) planar ion chamber array to characterize leakage radiation from the head of the linear accelerator. Ion chamber arrays provide a benefit over a singular ion chamber measurement as they allow for the measurement of a larger area in order to isolate the point of maximum leakage dose and the small size of each individual ion chamber minimizes volume-averaging effects. A Varian Truebeam® undergoing acceptance testing was used for all measurements. The gantry was wrapped in Portal Pack for Localization (PPL) radiographic film in order to isolate the location of maximum leakage. A calibration curve was developed and used to determine dose-to-film. An Ion Chamber Profiler (IC Profiler™) manufactured by Sun Nuclear Corporation was used to confirm measurements by the PPL film. All measurements were normalized to leakage at 100 cm from the target relative to the central axis. Three points were investigated with the IC Profiler, including the top of the gantry, the Varian logo, and the side of the gantry. For the three locations, respectively, the PPL film and the IC profiler were measured 0.142% and 0.131%, 0.036% and 0.030%, and 0.014% and 0.019%. The good agreement between the PPL film and the IC Profiler provides confidence in the use of a more efficient and accurate ion chamber array for head leakage measurements.

Determination of Bragg Peak Location for Heavy Ion Beam by Ionization Chambers

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Improvement of a New Gas Ionization Chamber

In order to identify heavier elements, we have developed a new longitudinal field gas ionization chamber (IC)with an angle of 30° of plate (as shown in Fig.1). The IC is operated in flowing iso-butane gas at a pressure of 10kPa. After testing by using a 3- component α particle source and comparing with the old longitudinal

An online monitor ionization chamber used in particle therapy

The clinical trials of tumor therapy using heavy ions beam 12C are now in progress at Institute of Modern Physics in Lanzhou. In order to achieve the precise radiotherapy with the high energy 12C beam in active pencil beam scanning mode, we have developed an ionization chamber(IC) as an online monitor for beam intensity and also a dosimeter after calibration. Through the choosing of working gas and voltage, optimizing of the electrics and the read-out system, calibrating the linearity, the detector system provide us one of the simple and highly reliable way to monitoring the beam during the active pencil beam scanning treatments. The measurement results of this detector system show that it could work well under the condition of high energy 12C beam in active pencil beam scanning mode.

LARGE VOLUME IONIZATION CHAMBER USED AS LABORATORY REFERENCE FOR LOW ENERGY X－RAY MEASUREMENT

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用于小型AMS的类布拉格探测器研制

为了解决小型AMS系统中,使用现有的气体电离室探测低能量重粒子时,脉冲信号高度与探测器本底噪声重合较多、难以有效区分的问题,研制了一种新型的类布拉格气体电离室。在一定的约化场强下,这种电离室能够使电子在阳极附近区域发生电子倍增,从而使脉冲信号高度上升,以达到与探测器本底噪声分开的目的。利用5.8 MeV的α粒子进行实验,通过调节α粒子进入探测器的能量,并在不同气体压力、阳极电压(约化场强E/P)的条件下对探测器性能进行系统调试。经过模拟计算和系统调试,得出以下结论:该探测器可用于测量粒子的能谱,能量分辨率可达到2.98%。当阳极前1 mm处的约化场强E/P为5 V·mm^(-1)·hPa^(-1)时,脉冲信号的增益大约为7倍。

PTW Detector7293种剂量验证方法在调强放射治疗中的对比研究

目的 :对比PTW Detector729 3种验证方法在调强放射治疗(intensity modulated radiation therapy,IMRT)剂量验证中的差异。方法:回顾性选取2022年1—12月于某院完成放射治疗的鼻咽癌、肺癌、乳腺癌、宫颈癌和全脑放射治疗患者共50例,使用PTW Detector729二维电离室矩阵配合PTW RW3固体水与PTW Ocavius 4D旋转模体对50例患者的IMRT计划分别进行归零机架角2D剂量验证、实际机架角2D剂量验证和实际机架角3D剂量验证。将剂量评估阈值设为10%,统计3种验证方法在3%/1 mm、2%/2 mm、3%/2 mm和3%/3 mm 4种评估标准下的γ通过率。采用SPSS 22.0统计学软件进行数据分析。结果:在10%剂量评估阈值标准下,归零机架角2D剂量验证的γ通过率最高,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);实际机架角2D剂量验证的γ通过率高于实际机架角3D剂量验证,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。3种验证方法的γ通过率在3%/1 mm、2%/2 mm、3%/2 mm和3%/3 mm 4种标准下逐渐升高,且在3%/2 mm标准下均超过90%,结果满足临床放射治疗要求。结论:3种验证方法的验证结果均能达到IMRT剂量验证实践指南要求,根据IMRT开展情况选择合适的验证方法,对确保治疗方案安全、有效实施具有重要意义。

环境自动监测站固定式辐射监测仪性能测试与评价

参考计量技术规范《固定式环境γ辐射空气比释动能(率)仪现场校准规范》(JJF 1733—2018),对辐射环境空气自动监测站78台高气压电离室开展辐射特性测试。现场校准方面,仅88%的电离室满足1±0.2的响应范围要求;78台电离室的重复性均不超过1%,响应的非线性均不超过6.5%,符合规范要求。针对电离室开展辐射性能测试,发现电离室在9.0×10^(-2)~1.0×10^(9)μGy/h范围内的响应均不超过1±0.2;电离室对164 keV以上的光子的能量响应趋于1.0,对60 keV以下的光子无响应能力,而当光子能量在60~164 keV范围内时,响应曲线会因γ光子与电离室内部惰性气体的光电效应出现“鼓包”;电离室不具备对核临界事故脉冲辐射的监测与警示能力;电离室能够在2 s内给出测量范围内的准确示值,但在分段电压的交界处,响应时间会延长至180~360 s;电离室的响应受环境温度、湿度变化的影响大小不足±0.01,表明电离室的环境适应性优良。

反应堆中子通量测量用裂变电离室探测装置研制

为建立一套用于反应堆中子通量测量的监测装置,以实现核电站堆外核测量系统测量要求,研制了一种长灵敏区、宽量程、高灵敏度和强γ抑制能力的裂变电离室探测装置。同时对该裂变电离室探测装置的热中子灵敏度、高压坪特性、甄别特性和γ感应度等典型核性能指标进行了试验验证。试验结果表明,该裂变电离室综合性能能够满足AP1000系列核电站堆外核测量系统中间量程测量通道的应用需求。

Design of weak current measurement system and research on temperature impact

A dedicated weak current measurement system was designed to measure the weak currents generated by the neutron ionization chamber.This system incorporates a second-order low-pass filter circuit and the Kalman filtering algorithm to effectively filter out noise and minimize interference in the measurement results.Testing conducted under normal temperature conditions has demonstrated the system's high precision performance.However,it was observed that temperature variations can affect the measurement performance.Data were collected across temperatures ranging from -20 to 70℃,and a temperature correction model was established through linear regression fitting to address this issue.The feasibility of the temperature correction model was confirmed at temperatures of -5 and 40℃,where relative errors remained below 0.1% after applying the temperature correction.The research indicates that the designed measurement system exhibits excellent temperature adaptability and high precision,making it particularly suitable for measuring weak currents.

应用屏栅电离室测量^(16)O(n,α)^(13)C反应的模拟研究

基于Geant4建立了一套利用屏栅电离室测量^(16)O(n,α)^(13)C反应的模拟方法,能预测不同入射中子能量、不同屏栅电离室结构、不同工作气体和样品参数等实验条件下屏栅电离室测量到的阴极-阳极幅度2维谱。为了验证该模拟方法的可靠性,在北京大学4.5 MV静电加速器上开展了实验,实验所用的中子能量为5.06 MeV,工作气体为0.3 MPa的Ar与体积分数为3.45%CO 2组成的混合气体(其中的氧作为待测样品)。实验测得了屏栅电离室的阴极阳极幅度2维谱,且模拟与实验结果吻合较好。基于此模拟方法提出了一套实验条件的优化方案,可为下一步在宽能区精确测量^(16)O(n,α)^(13)C反应截面提供参考。