Dealing with Cerenkov radiation generated in organic scintillator dosimeters by bremsstrahlung beams.

ABSTRACT

An organic scintillator detector system has been developed for radiotherapy bremsstrahlung dosimetry. The scintillators are connected to photodiodes by light pipes as the photodiodes must be removed and shielded from the incident radiation. The photodiodes see visible and near-visible light emissions from the scintillator as well as Cerenkov and fluorescence radiation that has been generated and trapped in the scintillator and light pipe. The Cerenkov and fluorescence radiation limits the accuracy of the dosimeter. This work examines a range of methods for diminishing the signal contribution of Cerenkov and fluorescence radiation while optimizing the scintillator signal. Three methods of achieving these goals have been used. They are reflective coatings on the scintillator, long-wavelength-emitting scintillators used in conjunction with the photodiode, and absorptive filters placed between the light guide and photodiode. The contribution of the Cerenkov radiation to the light seen by the photodiode has been modelled and the model predictions have been tested using bremsstrahlung beams of peak energy between 13 and 20 MV, showing agreement with measurement.