A comparative study on Compton mass attenuation coefficient based on Klein-Nishina theory for different types of materials in the energy range 0.284–15 MeV

Abstract

Radiation is used in many applications such as medicine, therapy, industry but it also has some disadvantages or hazards. Therefore, the knowledge of how radiation interacts with matter becomes very important at different photon energies. In the present study, Compton mass attenuation coefficients of different types of materials were investigated via Klein-Nishina formula in the energy range 0.284–15 MeV. Different methods were used to determine Compton mass attenuation coefficients of the materials. The results were compared with each other in terms of the methods. According to the results, Klein-Nishina electronic cross-sections and Compton mass attenuation coefficients of the studied materials were decreased with increasing γ-ray energy like the elements. In addition, the results were compared with possible results from literature as the mean result of the study. A good agreement was observed for Zn, Sn, Te, Ba, W and Bi elements (Diff. ≤ 6.25%) at 1.173 MeV photon energy. Best agreement was also observed for ZnS and CaCO3 compounds (0.14% ≤ Diff. ≤ 22.18%) at 4 and 1.332 MeV photon energies respectively. The reported data should be useful when the gamma rays into these materials especially in Compton scattering energy region.