Dosimetry for low-energy electron beam applications at Fraunhofer FEP

Abstract

Accelerating electrons to achieve chemical and biological effects is a well-established competence of Fraunhofer FEP. Today, there is a large variety of low-energy electron beam applications with a broad range of absorbed doses, e.g. modification of plastics, plasma-chemical syntheses, pollutant removal in wastewaters and exhaust gases, sterilization of medical products, disinfection of seeds, biocompatible functionalization of implants and stimulation of biotechnological processes. This calls for reliable, sensitive, and flexible methods for dosimetry. Radiochromic films are suitable tools to measure electron dose distributions for the characterization and quality control of Fraunhofer FEP’s irradiation facilities. Risø B3 radiochromic film from DTU Health Tech, the dosimeter of choice at FEP, reliably detects doses in the range of 10–100 kGy. However, with new upcoming applications, doses in the single-digit kGy range and even lower come to the fore. Hence, the palette of dosimeters at FEP must be extended. Gafchromic’s HD-V2 film is a welcome complement and widens the accessible dose range down to 10 Gy. Using a UV-VIS spectrophotometer for read-out of the films and custom analysis algorithms further increase the sensitivity of the dosimetric setup. Additionally, dosimeters based on the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of beryllium oxide offer a wide dose range and high sensitivity. They were used to measure doses induced by secondary X-ray components to gain more information about a specific radiation field. The work gives an overview of the dosimetric toolbox at Fraunhofer FEP and the efforts to implement new methods of detection for low-dose applications and X-ray dosimetry.

Keywords

• dosimetry
• low-energy electrons
• optically stimulated luminescence
• radiochromic film