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Photon contamination in 8–20‐MeV electron beams from a linear accelerator
Author(s) -
Gur D.,
Bukovitz A. G.,
Serago C.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.594525
Subject(s) - bremsstrahlung , contamination , photon , linear particle accelerator , electron , cathode ray , irradiation , imaging phantom , physics , foil method , scattering , radiation , beam (structure) , atomic physics , electron scattering , optics , materials science , nuclear physics , ecology , composite material , biology
The amount of x‐ray contamination near the surface of a phantom irradiated with electron beams was measured directly. Measurements were done to ascertain if photon contamination in the beam contributes a higher dose to the more superficial layers of an irradiated medium than indicated by conventional methods. A 1.4‐kG magnetic field was used to deflect the electron beams generated by a Philips SL/75‐20 linear accelerator. The electron energies studied were 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 20 Mev. After sweeping the electron beam, a significant amount of photon contamination was measured in all cases. The characteristic qualities of the photon contamination were measured directly in a water tank. They were found to agree with those of bremsstrahlung spectra generated in a thin target with a virtual source at the location of the scattering foil.