Photon Interaction Research Articles

Micromechanical behavior of the apple fruit cuticle investigated by Brillouin light scattering microscopy.

The cuticle is a polymeric membrane covering all plant aerial organs of primary origin. It regulates water loss and defends against environmental stressors and pathogens. Despite its significance, understanding of the micro-mechanical properties of the cuticle (cuticular membrane; CM) remains limited. In this study, non-invasive Brillouin light scattering (BLS) spectroscopy was applied to probe the micro-mechanics of native CM, dewaxed CM (DCM), and isolated cutin matrix (CU) of mature apple fruit. The BLS signal arises from the photon interaction with thermally induced pressure waves and allows for imaging with mechanical contrast. The derived loss tangent showed significant differences with wax extraction from the CM and further with carbohydrate extraction from the DCM, consistent with tensile test results. Spatial heterogeneity between anticlinal and periclinal regions was observed by BLS microscopy of CM and DCM, but not in CU. The key conclusions are: (1) BLS is sensitive to micro-mechanical variations, particularly the strain-stiffening effect of the cutin framework, offering insights into the CM's micro-mechanical behavior and underlying chemical structures; (2) CM and DCM exhibit spatial micro-mechanical heterogeneity between periclinal and anticlinal regions.

Pair production with capture by energetic cosmic ray nuclei in a photon background

We investigate the ionization state of very energetic cosmic ray nuclei in photon fields, such as the cosmic microwave background in extragalactic propagation and the environment surrounding the acceleration site in astrophysical sources. We focus on the process of pair production with electron capture (PPC), where the interaction of a single photon with a nucleus produces an e± pair (similar to Bethe-Heitler process) with the subsequent capture of electron by the nucleus. This process effectively reduces the nucleus charge by one unit and counteracts the photoionization process. We show that during cosmological propagation, where the ultrahigh energy cosmic rays interact predominantly with the cosmic microwave background, ionization dominates over PPC for all the cases of practical interest. However, within the source environment and at sufficiently high energies, ionization and PPC processes can reach an equilibrium, leading to a significant fraction of dressed heavy nuclei. This provides a further limitation to the acceleration of high-Z nuclei to very high energies in environments with hot and dense photon fields. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Evaluation of proton and alpha particles interaction parameters of selected cholinergic medications: a computational approach

In neuroimmune communication, the cholinergic system plays a key role in transmitting information vis-à-vis the peripheral immune status to the central nervous system and vice versa. Exposure to ionizing radiations (photons and charged particles) either for medical purposes (radiotherapy and radiodiagnostic) or during radiation accidents can affect the cholinergic system. As such, the administration of cholinergic medications, before or after exposure, can minimize the side effects of ionizing radiation on the cholinergic system. In literature, photon interaction parameters of cholinergic medications have been calculated. However, proton and alpha particle interactions parameters of cholinergic medications have not been investigated. This study, therefore, investigated the mass-stopping power (S(E)/ρ), effective atomic number (Zeff), and electron density (Neff) of 12 cholinergic medications, namely arecoline, carbachol, diisopropyl fluorophosphate, donepezil, malathion, parathion, physostigmine, pilocarpine, rivastigmine, sarin, soman, and tabun for proton and alpha particles interaction. To investigate the parameters of each of the cholinergic medications, a compact and comprehensible cross-platform computer software known as PAGEX was used to compute the S(E)/ρ, Zeff, and Neff for the proton and alpha particle interactions at an energy of 1 keV-10 GeV and 1 keV-1 GeV, respectively. The maximum value of the S(E)/ρ of the cholinergic medications occurred at lower energy regions of about 0.045 ≤ E ≤ 0.1 MeV and 0.5 ≤ E ≤ 0.75 MeV for proton and alpha particle interactions, respectively. Based on the S(E)/ρ, rivastigmine and parathion show the best and least radioprotective ability against proton and alpha particle radiations, respectively. Generally, it was observed that the medications with a lower Zeff have a higher S(E)/ρ than those with a higher Zeff. For both proton and alpha particle interactions, the variation of the Neff with the Zeff has been observed to be linear throughout the entire energy region. It is thought that the S(E)/ρ, Zeff, and Neff of the cholinergic medications for proton and alpha particle interactions investigated in this study will be useful in radiation dosimetry and will also be a buildup on future work that will focus on experimental findings on the radioprotective ability of the investigated medications against charged particle radiations.

Hierarchical Nanocellulose Photonic Design for Synergistic Colored Radiative Cooling.

Daytime radiative cooling (DRC) materials offer a sustainable, pollution-free passive cooling solution. Traditional DRC materials are usually white to maximize solar reflectance, but applications like textiles and buildings need more aesthetic options. Unfortunately, colorizing DRC materials often reduce cooling efficiency due to colorant sunlight absorption. Thus, this study reports a hierarchical photonic structure consisting of photoluminescent scatterer networks and a nanocellulose cholesteric structure. This design effectively addresses the trade-off between cooling efficiency and coloration, achieving enhanced cooling through synergistic all-day coloration. Sustainable nanocellulose with highly ordered cholesteric structures selectively reflects visible wavelengths, generating structural color and high mid-infrared (MIR) emission. The photoluminescent scatterer networks enhance reflectance and convert absorbed light into photoluminescent emission, further promoting cooling. This synergistic photonic interaction results in a significantly enhanced high reflectance of 92%, high MIR emissivity of >90%, stable and tunable structural color appearance, and hours-long afterglow photoluminescence. Consequently, a subambient cooling of up to 11.3 °C under sunlight is attainable, accompanied by the ability to produce programmable structural color and photoluminescent patterns for daytime and nighttime visibility. The enhanced cooling efficiency achieved through the synergistic interplay of four optical mechanisms from the UV to MIR region offers a promising design paradigm for other DRC materials.

Molecular scattering function data of brain tissue

The interaction of photons with matter is of great importance for the study of energy transfer to the medium. The most sensitive studies on energy transfer are Monte Carlo simulation applications. In Monte Carlo modeling, the calculation of incoherent scattering is important. The incoherent scattering of a photon in a medium is decisive in terms of scattering angle and energy transfer to the medium. By incorporating the incoherent scattering coefficients into the Monte Carlo modeling program, it will be possible to determine the attenuation properties of photons of different energies interacting in the matter. In this study, incoherent scattering functions necessary for calculating molecular incoherent scattering coefficients were obtained by using atomic data according to the molecular content of white and gray brain matter. We believe that our results can be used and will be beneficial for researchers who make models and work experimentally.

Numerical simulation of radiotherapy beam interaction with soft tissues and PLA plastic for 3D printing of dosimetric phantoms

Introduction. In the development of new methods of radiotherapy, studies of the biological effects of sparsely (photons, electrons) and densely (protons, ions) ionizing radiation are relevant. Reproducibility is a challenge in preclinical studies. Dosimetric phantoms of laboratory animals are an effective tool for dose assessment, facilitating standardization of tests conducted under different conditions. existing phantoms often fail to address radiobiological issues like placing of biological samples or dosimetry detectors. A method for manufacturing dosimetric phantoms must be developed to accurately manufacturing products and modify their design in accordance with the task. Aim. This study develops a numerical model to simulate the interaction of photon, electron and proton therapeutic beams with 3D-printed PLA plastic samples and to determine the optimal 3D printing parameters for imitating soft tissues. Material and Methods. Fused filament fabrication proposed as effective means of creating such devices, given that the majority of polymers exhibit properties closely aligned with those of biological tissues, are employed in the manufacture of standard phantoms. A major advantage of 3D printing is the ability to make items with different specifications. Numerical simulation was employed to investigate the interaction of PLA plastic with an ionizing radiation used in radiotherapy. Results. the calculated depth dose distributions of different types of radiation in soft tissues and PLA plastic of varying densities were obtained. It was demonstrated that for adipose imitation using photons and electrons, it is necessary to utilise PLA plastic 3D-printed samples with a density of 0.91 g/cm³ (fill factor of 75 %); for muscle – 1.06 g/ cm³ (fill factor of 88 %). For proton and carbon ion, the density of PLA plastic samples for adipose imitation was determined to be 0.97 g/cm³ (fill factor of 80 %); for muscle – 1.11 g/cm³ (fill factor of 93 %). Conclusion. The study demonstrates that the interaction of PLA plastic with rarely and densely ionizing radiation may be differed. This is a crucial consideration when planning experiments using solid-state dosimetric phantoms.

Optical parameters and shielding attitude of sodium fluoride in calcium-borate glasses

Borate glasses with compositions xCaO-(30-x)NaF-70B2O3 (x = 0–30 mol%, step 5) were synthesized and characterized to investigate the effects of partially substituting NaF with CaO on radiation shielding ability and optical properties. Density, molar volume, packing density, and free volume were measured and calculated. UV–visible spectroscopy was utilized to determine the optical bandgap and other correlated physical parameters. Moreover, different shielding parameters were evaluated using Phy-X simulation software. From data analyses, it was found that increasing CaO content transformed BO3 to BO4 structural units in the borate glass network, keeping the optical bandgap values between 3.76 and 3.55 eV. In addition, the refractive index varied from 2.32 to 2.4, while molar refractivity and Urbach energy were slightly increased with composition. Moreover, the replacement of NaF by CaO enhanced photon interaction cross-sections, reducing the mean free path and half-value layer. The work demonstrated that controlled additions of an intermediate oxide like CaO can tailor the radiation shielding and optical characteristics of borate glasses for potential applications as transparent radiation shielding materials.

New alternative equivalent phantom materials developed for radiotherapy applications

Abstract This paper reported an eco-friendly natural-based composite phantom equivalent to human body tissues prepared by mangrove wood, soy proteins, sodium hydroxide, and three different amounts of itaconic acid polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin. The probability of photon interactions was comprehensively analyzed using Monte Carlo code EGSnrc PEGS4 simulation in the 0.001-70.0 MeV range and compared with those of water and solid water phantoms. The results showed that the obtained radiation attenuation factors had similar parameters to those of water and other commercially available equivalent materials with χ 2 values (DSF15:SPC15:SPI15 = 0.064:0.099:0.075). Moreover, for the fractional probability of photon interactions computations, no significant difference for Compton scattering interaction was observed for water and solid water phantoms in the selected energies range, demonstrating the consistency of the constructed phantoms. Development of mangrove wood-based tissue equivalent materials under the conditions (DSF/SPC/SPI/NaOH/IA-PAE = 3.0:3.0:1.2:1.0:1.5, 150 kgcm−2, 180°C, 18 min) could be conducive as potential application in radiotherapy.

Digital subpixel algorithm for small pixel photon counting devices

Hybrid pixel detectors are segmented devices widely used for photon detection. They consist of a sensor and readout electronics bonded together. Due to their hybrid structure, sensors of different materials can be used to register a wide range of photon energies. Moreover, the devices working in a single photon counting (SPC) mode allow registering each incoming photon separately, providing noiseless imaging. The spatial resolution of the detectors and photon count rate registered per unit area can be improved by reducing pixel size. However, small-pixel devices suffer from charge sharing. The charge sharing between pixels can be observed if the charge cloud generated in the photon-sensor event spreads due to diffusion and repulsion. Several anti-charge-sharing algorithms exist and some have been successfully implemented inside the ASICs readout. Even though they allow the allocation of the event to the proper pixel and reconstruction of the total photon energy, the detector resolution is limited by the readout channel area which must be large enough to fit the complex mixed-mode functionality. The article presents the simulations of an alternative solution which can improve both spatial resolution and high-count-rate performance. In the authors’ approach, charge sharing is regarded as a positive effect which can be used to estimate the photon interaction position with subpixel resolution. The algorithm is evaluated to improve detection efficiency and required pixel area for implementation in deep submicron technologies.

Highly efficient single photon coupling via surface plasmons into single-mode optical fiber

Quanta of light (single photon) play as one of the building blocks of photonic based quantum computations, sensing, and communications. This makes a necessity to develop practical approaches for tuning, guiding, and coupling of single photons in photonic circuits for viable applications. Interaction and coupling efficiency of single photon into optical fibers is a technical bottleneck of quantum optics and should be addressed by novel design and materials. Here, we introduce a fiber-based micro-photonic design to directly coupling of the emitted single-photon to the core of a single mode fiber (SMF). The results of the simulation indicate that the emission of single photon source on a D-shaped SMF coated by a thin plasmonic film, provide remarkable amplifying of the evanescent field by confined surface plasmons into the SMF. The numerical analysis of different types and thicknesses of plasmonic materials by finite element method (FEM) is conducted to study the propagation vectors along the SMF as a function of the emission angle and wavelength of the single photon source. The results revealed that by the optimum thickness of the tantalum layer as novel plasmonic material, the best record of coupling efficiency can be achieved in the fiber optics communication region (λ ∼ 1550 nm). This approach sheds light on novel plasmonic-assisted coupling and promises a functional strategy for single photon manipulation in various fields of quantum optics.

All order factorization for virtual Compton scattering at next-to-leading power

We discuss all-order factorization for the virtual Compton process at next-to-leading power (NLP) in the ΛQCD/Q and −t/Q expansion (twist-3), both in the double-deeply-virtual case and the single-deeply-virtual case. We use the soft-collinear effective theory (SCET) as the main theoretical tool. We conclude that collinear factorization holds in the double-deeply virtual case, where both photons are far off-shell. The agreement is found with the known results for the hard matching coefficients at leading order αs0, and we can therefore connect the traditional approach with SCET. In the single-deeply-virtual case, commonly called deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS), the contribution of non-target collinear regions complicates the factorization. These include momentum modes collinear to the real photon and (ultra)soft interactions between the photon-collinear and target-collinear modes. However, such contributions appear only for the transversely polarized virtual photon at the NLP accuracy and in fact it is the only NLP ~ (ΛQCD/Q)1 ~ (−t/Q)1 contribution in that case. We therefore conclude that the DVCS amplitude for a longitudinally polarized virtual photon, where the leading power ~ (ΛQCD/Q)0 ~ (−t/Q)0 contribution vanishes, is free of non-target collinear contributions and the collinear factorization in terms of twist-3 GPDs holds in that case as well.

Selective Up‐ and Down‐Conversion Luminescence for Nonlinear Expansion of Unclonable Parameter Space

AbstractOptical physical unclonable functions (PUFs) have attracted considerable attention as an immediately exploitable cryptographic primitive for high‐level hardware security attributed to their potential for implementing a large parameter space through the incorporation of robust optical phenomena. However, previous optical PUFs primarily relied on linear and single‐channel optical processes, requiring an increase in the number of optical inputs (materials or wavelengths) in a monotonous manner to scale up challenge‐response pairs. Herein, an optical PUF capable of nonlinearly expanding the parameter space to enhance the cryptographic strength through the selective adjustment of up‐ and down‐conversion luminescence is introduced. The nonlinearity in the expansion of the parameter space originates from a random distribution of three types of microspheres, with their shells designed to exhibit various positional arrangements of upconversion nanoparticles and perovskite crystals. Because energy and photon interactions depend on their positional proximity and excitation power, adjusting the two excitation inputs into five power steps enables the single PUF to generate 30 unique cryptographic keys, which is 15 times greater than what a linear system can offer. The PUF also demonstrates high stability, maintaining its cryptographic performance when exposed to heat, moisture, and long‐term laser excitation, underscoring its practical applicability in security protocols.

Addressing challenges of high-energy atmospheric physics in Europe

Thunderstorm-induced gamma radiation phenomena, including terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) and thunderstorm ground enhancements (TGEs), have emerged as key areas in high-energy atmospheric physics due to their potential radiation effects in the atmosphere. The interaction of high-energy photons and relativistic electrons with the air can lead to complex radiation processes, influencing local and global atmospheric radiation fields. Developing specialized gamma-ray spectrometers is essential in regions like Central Europe, where environmental and technical challenges differ from those in Japan or Asian high-altitude areas. This paper describes the necessary adaptations for gamma spectrometry in such environments, focusing on sensitivity to high-energy photon detection, rapid event timing, and integration into distributed measurement networks. Results from field deployments at high-altitude observatories and thunderstorm chase events provide new insights into the radiation dynamics of TGEs, contributing to a better understanding of radiation effects in the air during thunderstorms in continental climates.

Significantly improved optical and radiation transmission performance of borate glasses via Tb and Yb rare earth doping

The present study was intended to present new borate glass structure with attractive properties useful for optical and radiation shielding purposes. Therefore, a novel series of B2O3-glass samples defined as: 75B2O3 – 10Li2O – (15-x-y)PbO – x(Yb2O3) – y(Tb2O3), where the corresponding oxide fractions are expressed in mol percent and x and y varied between 1 and 2 mol%, were prepared by employing the well-known melting-and-quenching technique. The structural, physical, optical, and radiation interaction qualities of the glasses were probed based on established experimental and theoretical processes. There was a thin line between the density and molar volumes of the glasses, fluctuating between 3.168 and 3.224 g/cm3 and 28.602 and 29.117 cm3/mol, respectively. All the glass samples exhibited a transparency of over 80 % in the visible range and most parts of the infrared spectrum. The analysis of the gamma photon interaction parameters showed that density and chemical composition greatly influence the shielding abilities of the glasses. The mean free paths of the studied glasses were lower than some known shielding glasses and other materials. The value of ΣR for 1Y0T, 1Y1T, 1Y2T, and 2Y1T is 0.1059, 0.1066, 0.1051, and 0.1063 cm−1, respectively. The half value layers of the glasses had almost a constant minimum value of 0.005 cm at the minimum energy (0.015 MeV) and maximum values of 7.192, 7.100, 7.152, and 7.035 cm for 1Y0T, 1Y1T, 1Y2T, and 2Y1T, respectively at 10.000 MeV. The glasses are potentially more effective for radiation shielding and also desirable where there is lack of space for thicker shield designs. The present glasses had better fast neutron moderating capacities compared to some conventional moderators. None of the studied borate glasses showed a clear performance advantage to the others in terms of absorbing electrons, protons, alpha particles and heavy carbon ions. The studied borate glasses are recommended as transparent and effective radiation protection barriers in ionizing radiation facilities.

γ-Cascade V4: A semi-analytical code for modeling cosmological gamma-ray propagation

Since the universe is not transparent to gamma rays with energies above around one hundred GeV, it is necessary to account for the interaction of high-energy photons with intergalactic radiation fields in order to model gamma-ray propagation. Here, we present a public numerical software for the modeling of gamma-ray observables. This code computes the effects on gamma-ray spectra from the development of electromagnetic cascades and cosmological redshifting. The code introduced here is based on the original γ-Cascade, and builds on it by improving its performance at high redshifts, introducing new propagation modules, and adding many more extragalactic radiation field models, which enables the ability to estimate the uncertainties inherent to EBL modeling. We compare the results of this new code to existing Monte Carlo electromagnetic transport models, finding good agreement within EBL uncertainties.

Cascaded hybrid convolutional autoencoder network for spectral-spatial nonlinear hyperspectral unmixing

ABSTRACT Due to the complex interaction of photons between materials, linear hyperspectral unmixing (HU) is limited in real scenarios, making nonlinear unmixing a promising alternative. With the advancement of deep learning (DL), nonlinear unmixing methods based on the convolutional autoencoder (CAE) have gained considerable traction in HU. However, these unmixing methods struggle to integrate spectral and spatial information while reducing the loss of material details during the unmixing process. Therefore, we propose a cascaded hybrid CAE nonlinear unmixing network, called CHCANet, which effectively leverages convolutional combinations to deeply explore the spectral-spatial information from hyperspectral data and preserve the material details through self-perception. Specifically, each CAE in CHCANet combines 1-D and 2-D convolutions, fully utilizing the flexibility and simplicity of 1-D convolutions to capture spectral features and the spatial correlation handling capability of the 2-D convolution. Moreover, we apply the self-perception mechanism to the nonlinear HU task, which can establish the cycle consistency of the network, strengthen mutual connections between encoders, and effectively preserve high-level semantic information. Following this, the optimized self-perception loss further enhances CHCANet’s perception capability of nonlinear components and strengthens the connection between the decoder directly associated with image reconstruction. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of CHCANet and show excellent competitiveness compared to state-of-the-art unmixing methods.

Gamma-ray irradiation-induced effects on Er3+-doped Li2O-Bi2O3-B2O3-TeO2 glass: Structural, optical, luminescence, and radiation shielding properties

In the present study, we report the gamma (γ) ray irradiation-induced structural, optical, luminescence and radiation shielding properties of Er3+-doped Li2O-Bi2O3-B2O3-TeO2 glasses prepared by melt-quenching technique. It was evidence of the slight reductions in density and refractive index while maintaining stable optical properties upon the γ irradiation. Additionally, increased molar volume and polarizability indicated a less compact network. Raman spectroscopy shows broadened peaks and intensity reductions at key vibrational modes. The UV–Vis–NIR absorption spectra reveal the shift in the absorption edge and reduction in the intensities of Er³⁺ absorption bands (around 450, 520, 550, and 650 nm) with higher radiation doses, indicating radiation-induced damage. It was found that the band gap values decreased from 2.58 eV to 1.30 eV for un-irradiated glass to 90 kGy irradiated glass, and Urbach energy was found to increase from 0.18 to 1 eV respectively, indicating structural disorder and localized states within the band gap. PL emission spectra demonstrated intensity changes and peak shifts with γ radiation dose while maintaining a dominant green emission from 4S3/2 → 4I15/2 and 2H11/2 → 4I15/2 transitions, supported by the CIE diagram analysis. The NIR emission spectra also displayed a peak at 1530 nm with decreasing intensity, indicating defect-induced non-radiative recombination centres. Luminescence lifetime decay profiles indicated reduced lifetimes at higher γ doses, suggesting introduced non-radiative decay pathways. Furthermore, Phy-X software analysis highlighted effective γ-ray shielding influenced by chemical composition and photon flux, with MAC sharply decreasing to 1.8 cm2/g at 0.1 MeV and stabilizing, while LAC showed reduced attenuation efficiency at higher energies. HVL and TVL increased with energy, stabilizing around 4–5 cm and 15–16 cm, respectively, necessitating thicker materials for effective shielding at higher photon energies. MFP rapidly increased to 6–7 cm at 2 MeV, stabilizing at higher energies, while Zeff decreased sharply before stabilizing around 1 MeV. The EBF and EABF trends exhibited higher values at low energies, stabilizing at higher energies, indicating effective photon interaction and resonance effects.

Topological features of trajectories of virtual photons and their effective interaction under multiple scattering in a system of conductive nanoparticles

It is shown that in conditions of strong light localization in a system of Rayleigh's resonance scatterers, effective photon–photon interaction appears. This interaction is associated with neither nonlinearity of medium nor nonlocal interaction of polarization-entangled photon pairs. It is related to complex topology of photon trajectories due to multiple scattering. Because of this interaction, acts of simultaneous elastic scattering of pair of photons in the considered system cease to be independent processes. The differential cross section of this cooperative process contains only an extra degree of small Rayleigh's factor in comparison with the classical scattering cross section of a single photon. This opens up the possibility of control of light fluxes by means of alternative low-intensity light fluxes without using slow optoelectronic converters. Light localization that provides the effective photon–photon interaction is considered in the framework of a new formalism different from traditional one. Equation of the Bethe–Salpeter for two-photon propagator is resolved directly in coordinate representation without traditional reducing of this equation to some transport equation. This allows in a new light to look on reason of weak light localization and to show that weak localization is one of consequences of strong localization.

Gamma attenuation and radiation shielding performance of CaCu3B2Re2O12 (B[dbnd]Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) perovskites

In order to identify the importance of perovskites in nuclear science, studies aimed at obtaining the radiation interaction quantities of perovskites are essential. This study computed and analyzed the gamma photon interaction parameters of CaCu3B2Re2O12 (BMn, Fe, Co, and Ni) perovskites to reveal their shielding potentials and comparative advantages against traditional shielding materials. Four samples of ferrimagnetic quaternary perovskites whose chemical structures are summarized as CaCu3B2Re2O12 (BMn (CCMRO1), Fe (CCMRO2), Co (CCMRO3), and Ni (CCMRO4)) were considered for their gamma interaction quantities. The values of mass attenuation coefficient (μρ) was calculated with XCOM and they were in the range of 0.0552 cm2/g–0.4162 cm2/g for CCMRO1, 0.0553 cm2/g–0.4165 cm2/g CCMRO2, 0.0552 cm2/g–0.4148 cm2/g for CCMRO3, and 0.0555 cm2/g–0.4163 cm2/g for CCMRO4. The values of effective atomic number and electron density was within the range 21.38–43.38 and 2.84 x 1023 electrons/g −5.62 x1023 electrons/g, respectively. The trend of the mass energy absorption coefficients of the perovskites was also found to be in the same order as the mass attenuation coefficient. CCMRO3 has the highest photon energy absorptive ability among the perovskites while CCMRO2 has the least capacity. Also, the gamma dose rates in15 mm thick of CCMRO1, CCMRO2, CCMRO3, and CCMRO4 for 1.25 MeV are about 1446 kR/h, 1449 kR/h, 1453 kR/h, and 1446 kR/h, respectively. Comparatively, the values of the exposure and energy absorption buildup factors were almost the same for the perovskites at the same energy and optical depth. The investigated perovskites had higher mass attenuation coefficients that standard shielding glasses. The perovskites can be used for shielding or any other radiation absorption roles in radiation science and technology, especially for photons at low energies.

A Review of the Application of the Laser-Light Backscattering Imaging Technique to Agricultural Products

Growing concerns about food safety and waste have increased consumer demand for high-quality agricultural products, particularly at the postharvest stage. This demand has prompted the development of non-destructive methods to assess or inspect the internal quality of fruits and vegetables. The backscattering imaging technique, also known as diffuse reflectance imaging, is considered a highly promising approach. Numerous studies have focused on practical applications, using laser light at selected wavelengths to develop quick multispectral methods. Due to the rapid interaction of photons with biological tissue, together with the highly computational performance of machine vision, backscattering imaging can offer a valuable alternative to traditional methods. Its primary benefits include quick measurements without chemical sample preparation, easy integration with high-throughput automatic quality control, and reduced waste, since this non-destructive technique does not damage samples. This review presents a comprehensive overview of backscattering imaging, including the measurement geometry, data analysis, and design considerations for vision systems. Additionally, it explores this technique’s advantages, challenges, and accuracy, as demonstrated using various case studies.