Monte Carlo Calculation for Production Cross-Sections of Projectile’s Isotopes from Therapeutic Carbon and Helium Ion Beams in Different Materials

Abstract

Background: Isotopes of the projectile may be produced along the beam path during the irradiation of a target by a heavy ion due to inelastic interactions with the media. This study analyzed the production cross-section of carbon (C) and Helium (He) projectile’s isotopes resulting from the interactions of these beams with different materials along the beam path.Materials and Methods: In this study, we transport C and He ion beams through different materials. This transportation was made by the Monte Carlo simulation. Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) has been used for this calculation.Results and Discussion: It has been found that <sup>10</sup>C, <sup>11</sup>C, and <sup>13</sup>C from the <sup>12</sup>C ion beam and <sup>3</sup>He from the <sup>4</sup>He ion beam are significant projectile’s isotopes that have higher flux than other isotopes of these projectiles. The <sup>4</sup>He ion beam has a higher projectile’s isotope production cross-section along the beam path, which adds more impurities to the beam than the <sup>12</sup>C ion beam. These projectile’s isotopes from both the <sup>12</sup>C and <sup>4</sup>He ion beams have higher production cross-sections in hydrogenous materials like water or polyethylene.Conclusion: It is important to distinguish these projectile’s isotopes from the primary beam particles to obtain a precise and accurate cross-section result by minimizing the error during measurement with a nuclear track detector. This study will show the trend of the production probability of projectile’s isotopes for these ion beams.