Pixelated silicon detector for radiation beam profile measurements

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the use of a pixelated silicon detector, originally designed for particle physics, for accurate radiation beam profile measurements and pulse-height spectra in water, showing high agreement with traditional methods and simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of pixelated silicon detectors for radiation therapy beam profiling and pulse-height measurement, with demonstrated high accuracy and agreement with simulations.

Findings

Beam profile differences reduced to less than 0.005 after correction.

Detector accurately measured pulse-height spectra in water.

High agreement between measurements and Monte Carlo simulations.

Abstract

A pixelated silicon detector, developed originally for particle physics experiments, was used for a beam profile measurement of a Co-60 irradiator in a water phantom. The beam profile was compared to a profile measured with a pinpoint ionization chamber. The differences in the pixel detector and pinpoint chamber relative profiles were within approximately 0.02, and after calculating correction factors with Monte Carlo simulations for the pixel detector, the differences were decreased to almost less than 0.005. The detector's capability to measure pulse-height was used to record an electron pulse-height spectrum in water in the Co-60 beam, and the results agreed well with simulations.