Determination of air luminescence spectra for alpha-emitters with liquid scintillation spectrometers

Murase, Yuko; Homma, Yoshio; Takiue, Makoto; Aburai, Tamaru

doi:10.1016/0883-2889(89)90220-7

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This is to be compared to what had been measured in the controlled environment of the lab, where the typical rates were about 1 kHz. This is almost certainly due to α particles from radon decay, which ionize and excite atmospheric nitrogen [27], producing light in the PMT-sensitive range of 300-500 nm [28,29]. Given that the volume of air in the IWS is so much larger than that in the OWS, it is not surprising that the IWS rates were substantially higher than the OWS rates in the dry pool.…”

Section: Commissioningmentioning

confidence: 96%

The muon system of the Daya Bay Reactor antineutrino experiment

Balantekin

Band

et al. 2015

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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The Daya Bay experiment consists of functionally identical antineutrino detectors immersed in pools of ultrapure water in three well-separated underground experimental halls near two nuclear reactor complexes. These pools serve both as shields against natural, low-energy radiation, and as water Cherenkov detectors that efficiently detect cosmic muons using arrays of photomultiplier tubes. Each pool is covered by a plane of resistive plate chambers as an additional means of detecting muons. Design, construction, operation, and performance of these muon detectors are described.

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Section: Commissioningmentioning

confidence: 96%

The muon system of the Daya Bay Reactor antineutrino experiment

Balantekin

Band

et al. 2015

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A:

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“…4,5 In modern times, air scintillation (sometimes also called air fluorescence or air luminescence) has been utilized to study cosmic showers entering the earth atmosphere [6][7][8] and as a means to count alpha emitters. [9][10][11] The application of air scintillation for dosimetry of electron beams from a van de Graaff accelerator (0.5-1.5 MeV) has also been reported 12 and kilovoltage electron beams have been photographed using this phenomenon. 13 However, to the best of our knowledge, air scintillation has never been considered in the context of the clinical use of modern medical linear accelerators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…21 Cherenkov radiation has a broad emission spectrum that spans the entire ultraviolet and visible spectrum. In air, given the low index of refraction, electrons must have energy greater than 20.3 MeV to produce Cherenkov radiation, which is beyond the range of most medical linear accelerators (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). Several studies have however utilized Cherenkov radiation generated in water and tissue for dosimetry [22][23][24][25] and molecular imaging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeing the invisible: Direct visualization of therapeutic radiation beams using air scintillation

et al. 2013

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Purpose: To assess whether air scintillation produced during standard radiation treatments can be visualized and used to monitor a beam in a nonperturbing manner. Methods: Air scintillation is caused by the excitation of nitrogen gas by ionizing radiation. This weak emission occurs predominantly in the 300-430 nm range. An electron-multiplication chargecoupled device camera, outfitted with an f/0.95 lens, was used to capture air scintillation produced by kilovoltage photon beams and megavoltage electron beams used in radiation therapy. The treatment rooms were prepared to block background light and a short-pass filter was utilized to block light above 440 nm. Results: Air scintillation from an orthovoltage unit (50 kVp, 30 mA) was visualized with a relatively short exposure time (10 s) and showed an inverse falloff (r 2 = 0.89). Electron beams were also imaged. For a fixed exposure time (100 s), air scintillation was proportional to dose rate (r 2 = 0.9998). As energy increased, the divergence of the electron beam decreased and the penumbra improved. By irradiating a transparent phantom, the authors also showed that Cherenkov luminescence did not interfere with the detection of air scintillation. In a final illustration of the capabilities of this new technique, the authors visualized air scintillation produced during a total skin irradiation treatment. Conclusions: Air scintillation can be measured to monitor a radiation beam in an inexpensive and nonperturbing manner. This physical phenomenon could be useful for dosimetry of therapeutic radiation beams or for online detection of gross errors during fractionated treatments.

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“…), steps were taken to mitigate this concern. It was found in the literature and validated through experiments that air luminescence from an external ion source exhibits several distinct spectral peaks, none of which are above 500 nm (10,11). In order to mitigate this effect, a 500 nm band pass filter was introduced into the optical system and the photocathode of the single photon sensitive detector (PSD) was changed from a Bialkali with sensitivity from 250-550 nm to an S25, which is sensitive from 500-850 nm.…”

Section: Optical Design and Capabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging penetrating radiation through ion photon emission microscopy

et al. 2010

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The ion photon emission microscope (IPEM), a new radiation effects microscope for the imaging of single event effects from penetrating radiation, is being developed at Sandia National Laboratories and implemented on the 88" cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. The microscope is designed to permit the direct correlation between the locations of high-energy heavy-ion strikes and single event effects in microelectronic devices. The development of this microscope has required the production of a robust optical system that is compatible with the ion beam lines, design and assembly of a fast single photon sensitive measurement system to provide the necessary coincidence, and the development and testing of many scintillating films. A wide range of scintillating material for application to the ion photon emission microscope has been tested with few meeting the stringent radiation hardness, intensity, and photon lifetime requirements. The initial results of these luminescence studies and the current operation of the ion photon emission microscope will be presented. Finally, the planned development for future microscopes and ion luminescence testing chambers will be discussed. *khattar@sandia.gov; phone 1 505 845-9859; fax 1 505 844-7775; http://www.sandia.gov/pcnsc/departments/radsolid.html

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Determination of air luminescence spectra for alpha-emitters with liquid scintillation spectrometers

Cited by 11 publications

References 7 publications

The muon system of the Daya Bay Reactor antineutrino experiment

The muon system of the Daya Bay Reactor antineutrino experiment

Seeing the invisible: Direct visualization of therapeutic radiation beams using air scintillation

Imaging penetrating radiation through ion photon emission microscopy

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