Establishment of ANSI N13.11 X-ray radiation fields for personal dosimetry performance test by computation and experiment.

Abstract

This paper describes establishment by computational and experimental methods of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) N13.11 X-ray radiation fields by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). These fields were used in the standard irradiations of various personal dosimeters for the personal dosimetry performance test program performed by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Korea in the autumn of 1995. Theoretical X-ray spectra produced from two KAERI X-ray generators were estimated using a modified Kramers' theory with target attenuation and backscatter correction and their spectral distributions experimentally measured by a high-purity germanium semiconductor detector through proper corrections for measured pulse height distributions with photopeak efficiency, Compton fraction, and K-escape fraction. The average energies and conversion coefficients obtained from the computation and experimental methods, when compared with ANSI N13.11 and the recently published National Institute of Standards and Technology X-ray beams, appeared to be in good agreement--(+/-)3% between corresponding values--and thus, could be satisfactorily applied in the performance test of personal dosimeters.