Performance of the Secondary Electrons Profile Monitor for the scanning gantry in the Heavy Ion Medical Machine

Abstract

A Secondary Electrons Profile Monitor (SEPM) is developed as part of the beam dose delivery system in a clinical gantry of the Heavy Ion Medical Machine (HIMM). With the purpose of less disturbance to the beam, a thin foil with a thickness of 0.7μm and an accelerating grid with a diameter of 15μm are employed to produce and accelerate the secondary electrons, and two microchannel plates (MCPs) are used to multiply the electrons. Providing the real-time information of beam size, position, flatness, and symmetry in front of the scanning magnet, the beam monitor features an active area of 989 mm2, beam intensities between 1.0 ×103 to 1.0 ×108 particles per pulse (ppp) and a wide range of beam energies. A prototype is tested at the horizontal treatment room of the HIMM. Using different beam positions, sizes, and energies of 12C6+ beams, test experiments show that the beam monitor maintains good consistency with a Multi-Strip Ionization Chamber (MSIC). Compared to the MSIC, the SEPM shows a better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and higher sensitivity to the variation of the beam.