title: Dosimetric properties of high energy current (HEC) detector in keV x-ray beams.
abstract: We introduce a new x-ray radiation detector. The detector employs high-energy current (HEC) formed by secondary electrons consisting predominantly of photoelectrons and Auger electrons, to directly convert x-ray energy to detector signal without externally applied power and without amplification. The HEC detector is a multilayer structure composed of thin conducting layers separated by dielectric layers with an overall thickness of less than a millimeter. It can be cut to any size and shape, formed into curvilinear surfaces, and thus can be designed for a variety of QA applications. We present basic dosimetric properties of the detector as function of x-ray energy, depth in the medium, area and aspect ratio of the detector, as well as other parameters. The prototype detectors show similar dosimetric properties to those of a thimble ionization chamber, which operates at high voltage. The initial results obtained for kilovoltage x-rays merit further research and development towards specific medical applications.
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors: Piotr
authors: P
authors: Zygmanski
authors: Suman
authors: S
authors: Shrestha
authors: Bassem
authors: B
authors: Elshahat
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Karellas
authors: Erno
authors: E
authors: Sajo
mesh_terms: D004583:Electrons; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014965:X-Rays