Apparatus and Dosimetry for High-Energy Heavy-Ion-Beam Irradiations

• Published in: Radiation research 1976-03, Vol.65 (3), p.389-413
• Main Authors: Schimmerling, Walter, Vosburgh, Kirby G., Todd, Paul W., Appleby, Alan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dosimetry; Electrodes; Energy; Energy Transfer; Ionization; Ionization chambers; Ions; Light beams; Neon; Nitrogen; Nuclear Physics - instrumentation; Polyethylenes; Radiometry - instrumentation; Space life sciences; Stopping power
• ISSN: 0033-7587; 1938-5404
• DOI: 10.2307/3574371

Nitrogen ions were accelerated in the Princeton Particle Accelerator to energies of 3.9 and 7.2 GeV and neon ions were accelerated to 5.7 GeV. Apparatus was constructed for the determination of particle flux, dose rate, beam uniformity, particle energy, particle range, and nuclear interactions. Scintillation counter telescopes were used for the determination of particle flux, range, and energy. The design and construction of ionization chambers for these beams is discussed in detail. The ionization chambers were calibrated using X rays and carbon-11 activation. The value of W, the average energy required to produce one primary ionization, was found to be 26.2 ± 1.8 eV for high-energy nitrogen ions in argon. Radiation chemical yields for the nitrogen beam were obtained using a Fricke dosimeter. $G({\rm Fe}^{3+})$ was found equal to 11.3 ± 0.9/100 eV in the plateau and 5.3 ± 0.5/100 eV near the peak for a 10-2 M FeSO4 solution. Velocity spectra of nitrogen ions near the end of their range were obtained using time-of-flight techniques. These spectra were used to derive LET distributions.