Varian Clinac 2100 linear accelerator simulation employing PRIMO phase space model

Abstract

IntroductionThe lack of information concerning the geometry and the chemical elements that constitute the components of the linear accelerator is a real problem that is encountered by most researchers who wish to simulate these devices by Monte Carlo methods. MethodsTo overcome this problem, PRIMO represents a very attractive alternative that allows the simulation of different commercial linacs without disclosing their components. This solution was applied to simulate the Varian Clinac 2100 linear accelerator. The electron beam parameters for 6, 9 and 12 MeV are iteratively adjusted to match the measurement data. After validation of the simulation with PRIMO, the phase space models were generated and validated, for all the studied energy ranges in this work. Then, the results of this simulation were implemented in the GATE platform.The obtained simulation results by this method were compared to the measured data, to the GOLDEN DATA, and to the simulation data obtained from the direct simulation with PRIMO. ResultsThe simulation results found, for different field sizes and different energies, are in good agreement with the measured data and significantly better than those obtained by direct simulation with PRIMO. ConclusionsThis method gives very satisfactory results for all energies and all fields. The finding also shows how important it is for researchers to adopt this strategy to save the simulation time and the effort to find the shape and composite materials of the accelerator.