Well-defined Sensitive Volume Research Articles

Characterisation of a monolithic ΔE-E diamond telescope detector using low energy ion microbeams

Telescope detectors have long been studied for their capability of discriminating the type of radiation detected. Silicon is the most widely used material for solid-state detectors. However, in many nuclear physics experiments and medical applications, diamond offers significant advantages due to its outstanding features, such as a near tissue equivalence, high radiation hardness and reliable operation in harsh environments.A monolithic ΔE–E diamond-based telescope was fabricated. The thicknesses of the two detection stages were 2.5 μm and 500 μm for the ΔE and E stage, respectively. The device was characterised by means of IBIC (Ion Beam Induced Charge) analysis at the Ruđer Bošković Institute ion microbeam. The detector, irradiated with different low energy ions ranging from helium to oxygen, showed good homogeneity of the response on a well-defined sensitive volume with a charge collection efficiency close to 100%.The ΔE stage showed a very good linear response on a wide range of LET values in diamond (170–3140 keV/μm). Due to its relatively low thickness, it can be successfully used as a microdosimeter.Time coincidence measurements have demonstrated the diamond telescope capability of discriminating and identifying the impinging ions. However, when the ratio between the energy deposited by the particle in the E stage and in the ΔE stage is small, the response of the E stage was observed to be affected by a cross-talk between the two stages of the device. A method to correct the E response for such effect was developed and successfully applied to the acquired data.

Silicon 3D Microdetectors for Microdosimetry in Hadron Therapy.

The present overview describes the evolution of new microdosimeters developed in the National Microelectronics Center in Spain (IMB-CNM, CSIC), ranging from the first ultra-thin 3D diodes (U3DTHINs) to the advanced 3D-cylindrical microdetectors, which have been developed over the last 10 years. In this work, we summarize the design, main manufacture processes, and electrical characterization of these devices. These sensors were specifically customized for use in particle therapy and overcame some of the technological challenges in this domain, namely the low noise capability, well-defined sensitive volume, high spatial resolution, and pile-up robustness. Likewise, both architectures reduce the loss of charge carriers due to trapping effects, the charge collection time, and the voltage required for full depletion compared to planar silicon detectors. In particular, a 3D‒cylindrical architecture with electrodes inserted into the silicon bulk and with a very well‒delimited sensitive volume (SV) mimicked a cell array with shapes and sizes similar to those of mammalian cells for the first time. Experimental tests of the carbon beamlines at the Grand Accélérateur National d’Lourds (GANIL, France) and Centro Nazionale Adroterapia Oncologica (CNAO, Italy) showed the feasibility of the U3DTHINs in hadron therapy beams and the good performance of the 3D‒cylindrical microdetectors for assessing linear energy distributions of clinical beams, with clinical fluence rates of 5 × 107 s−1cm−2 without saturation. The dose-averaged lineal energies showed a generally good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. The results indicated that these devices can be used to characterize the microdosimetric properties in hadron therapy, even though the charge collection efficiency (CCE) and electronic noise may pose limitations on their performance, which is studied and discussed herein. In the last 3D‒cylindrical microdetector generation, we considerably improved the CCE due to the microfabrication enhancements, which have led to shallower and steeper dopant profiles. We also summarize the successive microdosimetric characterizations performed with both devices in proton and carbon beamlines.

Microdosimetric measurements of a monoenergetic and modulated Bragg Peaks of 62MeV therapeutic proton beam with a synthetic single crystal diamond microdosimeter.

The purpose of this study was to investigate for the first time the performance of a synthetic single crystal diamond detector for the microdosimetric characterization of clinical 62MeV ocular therapy proton beams. A novel diamond microdosimeter with a well-defined sensitive volume was fabricated and tested with a monoenergetic and spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) of the CATANA therapeutic proton beam in Catania, Italy. The whole sensitive volume of the detector has an active planar-sectional area of 100µm×100µm and a thickness of approximately 6.3 um. Microdosimetric measurements were performed at several water equivalent depths, corresponding to positions of clinical relevance. From the measured spectra, microdosimetric quantities such as the frequency mean lineal energy ( ), dose mean lineal energy ( ) as well as microdosimetric relative biological effectiveness (RBEµ ) values were derived for each depth along both a pristine Bragg curve and SOBP. Finally, Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations were performed modeling the detector geometry and CATANA beamline in order to calculate the average linear energy transfer (LET) values in the diamond active layer and water. The microdosimetric spectra acquired by the diamond microdosimeter show different shapes as a function of the water equivalent depths. No spectral distortion, due to pile-up events and polarization effects, was observed. The experimental spectra have a very low detection threshold due to the electronic noise during the irradiation of about 1keV/μm. The and values were in agreement with expected trends, showing a sharp increase in mean lineal energy at the distal edge of the Bragg peak. In addition, a good agreement between the mean lineal energy values and the calculated average LET ones was also observed. Finally, the RBE values evaluated with the diamond microdosimeter were in excellent agreement with those obtained with a mini tissue equivalent proportional counter as well as with radiobiological measurements in the same proton beam field. The microdosimetric performance of the tested synthetic single crystal diamond microdosimeter clearly indicates its suitability for quality assurance in clinical proton therapy beam.

Microdosimetry with a 3D silicon on insulator (SOI) detector in a low energy proton beamline

IntroductionAn accurate description of the radiation quality of proton beams is a precondition to increase our understanding of radiobiological mechanisms and to develop accurate biological response models for radiotherapy. However, there are few detectors capable of measuring microdosimetric quantities with high spatial resolution along the entire Bragg curve due to the rapid increase in stopping power at the Bragg peak (BP) and distal dose fall-off (DDF). The aim of this work was to measure the microdosimetric spectra along the Bragg curve in a low energy proton beamline used for radiobiological experiments with a novel 3D silicon-on-insulator (SOI) “mushroom” microdosimeter. MethodA silicon microdosimeter with an array of 3D structured diodes, creating well-defined sensitive volumes (SV) with excellent spatial resolution was used for microdosimetry. The microdosimeter was used to measure microdosimetric spectra and the relative dose throughout the Bragg curve of a 15 MeV proton beam by sequential insertion of 16 μm thick polyamide absorption films in front of the microdosimeter. The results were tissue corrected with a novel correction function and compared to Monte Carlo (MC) simulations performed in GATE. ResultsThe measured dose-mean lineal energy (yD‾) increased from 8 keV/μm at the entrance to 24 keV/μm at the BP, rising to a maximum of 35 keV/μm at the DDF. The measured yD‾ showed an overall good agreement with the MC simulated values, with deviation of less than 2% at the BP and DDF, while the largest deviation (12%) was found at the entrance. Clear changes in microdosimetric spectra were seen for each 16 μm step at the BP and DDF. ConclusionThe SOI microdosimeter with its well-defined 3D sensitive volumes is an excellent tool for characterizing low energy beamlines that demands very high spatial resolution. The good overall agreement between experimental and simulated results indicated that the detector is capable of accurate microdosimetric measurements.

3D silicon microdosimetry and RBE study using 12C ion of different energies

This paper presents a new version of the 3D mesa “bridge” microdosimeter comprised of an array of 4248 silicon cells fabricated on 10 µm thick silicon-on-insulator substrate. This microdosimeter has been designed to overcome limitations existing in previous generation silicon microdosimeters and it provides well-defined sensitive volumes and high spatial resolution. The charge collection characteristics of the new 3D mesa microdosimeter were investigated using the ANSTO heavy ion microprobe, utilizing 5.5 MeV He2+ ions. Measurement of microdosimetric quantities allowed for the determination of the Relative Biological Effectiveness of 290 MeV/u and 350 MeV/u 12C heavy ion therapy beams at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), Japan. The microdosimetric RBE obtained showed good agreement with the tissue-equivalent proportional counter. Utilizing the high spatial resolution of the SOI microdosimeter, the LET spectra for 70 MeV 12C+6 ions, like those present at the distal edge of 290 and 350 MeV/u beams, were obtained as the ions passed through thin layers of polyethylene film. This microdosimeter can provide useful information about the lineal energy transfer (LET) spectra downstream of the protective layers used for shielding of electronic devices for single event upset prediction.

3D Silicon Microdosimetry and RBE Study Using <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$^{12}{\rm C}$</tex></formula> Ion of Different Energies

This paper presents a new version of the 3D mesa Bridge microdosimeter comprised of an array of 4248 silicon cells fabricated on 10 μm thick n-type silicon-on-insulator substrate. This microdosimeter has been designed to overcome limitations existing in previous generation silicon microdosimeters and it provides well-defined sensitive volumes and high spatial resolution. The charge collection characteristics of the new 3D mesa microdosimeter were investigated using the ANSTO heavy ion microprobe, utilizing 5.5 MeV He 2 + ions. Measurement of microdosimetric quantities allowed for the determination of the relative biological effectiveness of 290 MeV/u and 350 MeV/u 12 C heavy ion therapy beams at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), Japan. The microdosimetric RBE obtained showed good agreement with the tissue-equivalent proportional counter. Utilizing the high spatial resolution of the SOI microdosimeter, the LET spectra for 70 MeV 12 C +6 ions, like those present at the distal edge of 290 and 350 MeV/u beams, were obtained as the ions passed through thin layers of polyethylene film. This microdosimeter can provide useful information about the lineal energy transfer (LET) spectra downstream of the protective layers used for shielding of electronic devices for single event upset prediction.

3D-Mesa “Bridge” Silicon Microdosimeter: Charge Collection Study and Application to RBE Studies in $^{12}{\rm C}$ Radiation Therapy

Microdosimetry is an extremely useful technique, used for dosimetry in unknown mixed radiation fields typical of space and aviation, as well as in hadron therapy. A new silicon microdosimeter with 3D sensitive volumes has been proposed to overcome the shortcomings of the conventional Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter. In this article, the charge collection characteristics of a new 3D mesa microdosimeter were investigated using the ANSTO heavy ion microprobe utilizing 5.5 MeV He <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2+</sup> and 2 MeV H <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">+</sup> ions. Measurement of the microdosimetric characteristics allowed for the determination of the Relative Biological Effectiveness of the <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">12</sup> C heavy ion therapy beam at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), Japan. Well-defined sensitive volumes of the 3D mesa microdosimeter have been observed and the microdosimetric RBE obtained showed good agreement with the TEPC. The new 3D mesa “bridge” microdosimeter is a step forward towards a microdosimeter with fully free-standing 3D sensitive volumes.

Cylindrical Silicon-on-Insulator Microdosimeter: Design, Fabrication and TCAD Modeling

A novel silicon-on-insulator (SOI) microdosimeter has been designed and fabricated using planar processing techniques to realise a device with a micron-scale well-defined sensitive volume. Cylindrical structures were employed to allow for an improved definition of the average chord length of the sensitive volume over that of previous elongated parallelepiped solid-state detector designs. The structures were manufactured on individual silicon mesas situated on top of a buried oxide insulating layer. The mesa design eliminated lateral charge diffusion. Two kinds of test structures were designed with sensitive region widths of 2 mum and 10 mum. In addition, an array of 900 cylindrical diodes was fabricated to increase the charge collection statistics. TCAD (Technology Computer Aided Design) modeling of the electrostatic potential and electric field profile of the cylindrical microdosimeter was carried out to obtain 3D potential and electric field profiles. The modeling revealed a radial electric field within the cylindrical-shaped sensitive volume with a 1/r dependence. While the electric field at the core of the cylindrical microdosimeter was not sufficiently high to induce avalanche signal multiplication, the higher electric field at the core should still assist in the measurement of low linear-energy transfer (LET) events.

Proton SEU cross sections derived from heavy-ion test data

Many papers have presented models for estimating proton single event upset (SEU) cross sections from heavy-ion test data, but all rigorous treatments to date are based on the sensitive volume (SV) model for charge collection. Computer simulations have already shown that, excluding devices utilizing physical boundaries for isolation, there is no well-defined SV. A more versatile description of charge collection, which includes the SV model as a special case, utilizes a charge-collection efficiency function that measures the effect that the location of ionization has on collected charge. This paper presents the first rigorous analysis that uses a generic charge collection efficiency function to relate proton to heavy-ion cross sections. The most practical result is an upper bound for proton SEU or single event latchup (SEL) cross sections, which requires no information about the charge-collection efficiency function, except that it exists. In addition, some models previously presented by others are reproduced (or, in one case, extended) by applying the general theory to special cases. The similarities and differences between a variety of models become clear when the models are recognized to be special cases or variations of this general theory.