The Roles of Gold Plate (140${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) Loaded on TLD-100 Chips in the High Energy Radiation Beams

고에너지 광자선속에서 TLD-100 chip 위에 있는 금박막(140 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) 역할

Lithium Fluoride (LiF; TLD-100) crystal chips are normally used as thermolu minescence dosimeters (abbreviated as NC-100) for estimating the absorbed dose to the skin of a patient or in a solid water phantom undergoing radiotherapy with megavoltage photon (6 and 15MV) beams. In general, investigation has revealed a reduction in the sensitivity of NC-100 chips after many runs through heating cycles. A TLD-100 chip laminated with gold plate (140${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$) on the upper surface layer of its face toward the photon beam (abbreviated as GC-100) has properties different from that of a NC-100 chip activated by incident photons and contaminant electrons with various lower energies coming from the gantry head and air. Activation of the valence band electrons of GC-100 chips by incident photons, positrons and electrons-which come from the gold plate by mainly pair production process and partly from Compton scattering-results in more enhanced signal intensity, higher response per monitor unit, as well as a good linearity with monitor units and independence of dose rate. Since the electron beams (6 and 15 MeV) do not have the probability of pair production process with gold plate, there is only a small difference (about a 3.3％ increase for 15 MeV) in the signal gaps in the TL readout for electron beams between GC- and NC-100 chips. The 3.3％ increase is entirely due to the buildup caused by the 140 m gold plate. The sensitivity of GC-100 chips is much more susceptible to high energy photon beams than electron one because of pair production. The interaction of high energy photon with a material of high atomic number, such as the good plate in this case, results in a considerably significant probability of pair production. The gold plate on the NC-100 chips acts as not only an intensifier of their signals but also acts as a filter of contaminant electrons in therapeutic high energy X-ray beams.

고에너지 (6-15MV) 광자선속으로 치료할때 LiF(TLD-100) 결정은 solid water phantom 이나 환자의 피부 표면에서의 흡수선량을 측정하기 위해 열자극 발광 선량계(이하 NC-100)가 주로 사용된다. 통상 NC-100은 가열 과정을 여러회 반복하면 그 감도가 줄어드는 것으로 조사되었다. NC-100 위에 입사 광자선속 방향으로 올려놓은 140$\mu\textrm{m}$ 두께의 금박막(이하 GC-100)은 NC-100 과 다른 성질을 갖는다. 즉, 광자선속에서 GC-100 은 금박막에서 주로 쌍생성이 일어나고 부분적으로 Compton 산란이 일어나 많은 양전자와 음전자를 만들어 낸다. 그 결과 TLD-100 결정은 증가된 신호를 갖고(최대 100% 증가), 흡수 선량당 높은 반응도가 좋은 선형도를 갖으며, 선량물에 무관할 뿐만 아니라 Fluctuation error 도 $\pm$0.5% 미만으로 낮게 측정되었다. GC-100 은 주로 쌍생성이 일어나기 때문에 전자선보다 광자선에서 더욱 감도가 좋은것으로 나타난다. 그것은 금과같이 원자번호가 높은 매질에서 광자선에 의한 쌍생성의 확률이 큰것에 기인한다. 치료용 고에너지 광자선속에서 TLD-100 chip 위에 올려진 금박막은 TLD 의 신호를 크게 증가시키는 역할을 하는것으로 나타났다.