• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.701-708
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• 2022

The mass attenuation coefficients (μ_m) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) of different molecular weights (1000-200,000) were measured using single-beam photon transmission. The X-ray fluorescent (XRF) photons from Zinc (Zn), Zirconium (Zr), Molybdenum (Mo), Silver (Ag) and Cadmium (Cd) targets were used to determine the attenuation of gamma radiation of energy range between 8.67 and 23.19 keV in PEG samples. The results were compared to theoretical values using XCOM and Monte Carlo simulation using Geant4 toolkit which was developed to validate the experiment at those certain energies. The mass attenuation coefficients were then used to compute the effective atomic numbers, electron density and half value layers for the studied samples. The outcomes showed good agreement between experimental and simulated results with those calculated theoretically by XCOM within 5% deviation. The PEG 1000 sample showed slightly higher μ_m value compared with the other samples. The dependence of the photon energy and PEG composition on the values of μ_m and HVL were investigated and discussed. In addition, the values of Z_eff and N_eff for all PEG samples behaved similarly in the given photon energy range, and they decreased as the photon energy increased.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.283-292
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• 2022

Advanced radiation applications have been widely used and extended to many fields. As a result of this fact, choosing an appropriate shielding material based on the radiation application has become vital. In this regard, the integration of elements into polymer composites has been investigated and contributed to the quantity and quality of radiation shielding materials. This study reports photon attenuation parameters and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of a novel polymer composite prepared with a matrix reinforced with three different proportions (5, 10, and 15 wt%) of niobium content. Addition of Nb dopant improves both photon attenuation and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness for the investigated composites. Therefore, Nb(15%) polymer composite with highest concentration has been found to be the best absorber for ionizing and non-ionizing radiations. Consequently, the performed analyzes provide evidences that the prepared Nb-reinforced polymer composite could be effectively used as photon radiation attenuator and electromagnetic shielding material.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.507-514
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to find a formula that can easily calculate the effective photon energy in the X-ray beam of mammography. The tube voltage measured for each set tube voltage was obtained using the X2 MAM Sensor. The mass attenuation coefficient for aluminum of the aluminum filter was obtained from the half value layer measurement from each measured tube voltage X-ray beam. The mass attenuation coefficient of aluminum obtained from each measured tube voltage X-ray beam was corresponded to the mass attenuation coefficient of aluminum for each photon energy obtained from NIST. The photon energy corresponding to the matching mass attenuation coefficient was determined as the effective photon energy. The formula for calculating the determined effective photon energy was obtained by polynomial matching of the effective photon energy for each tube voltage in the Origin pro 2019b statistical program as y = 28.98968-1.91738x + 0.07786x2-0.000946717x3. Here, x is the measuring tube voltage and y is the effective photon energy. The calculation formula of the effective photon energy of the mammography X-ray beam obtained in this study is considered to be very useful in obtaining the interaction coefficient between the X-ray beam and a certain substance in clinical practice.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.241-246
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• 2024

The study was carried out by numerical integration based on the diffraction properties and elemental composition. The elemental compositions of breast tissues in the literature were tested. The photon attenuation coefficients calculated using the recent elemental composition were found within 0.2-16% for adipose tissue and within 0.04-17% for glandular tissue with the experimental reference data. The attenuation coefficients of cancerous breast tissue calculated according to the elemental content previously measured in breast cancer patients were found within 0-17% with experimental data in the literature. The attenuation coefficients are of great interest to medical research. To calculate realistic attenuation coefficients, the characteristic coherent scatter, which is most intense at small angles, must be considered. For this reason, experimentally measured form factor data were reviewed, and the most compatible one with the theoretical form factor data produced in this study was used at low momentum transfer x (0 < x ≤ 8 nm^-1). The differential linear coherent scattering distributions were calculated for an energy value of 17.44 keV and compared with their experimental counterparts.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.102-110
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• 1999

The LIGA X-ray exposure step was modelled into three inequalities, by assuming that the X-ray energy attenuated within a resist is deposited only in the localized range of the resist. From these inequalities, equations for the minimum and maximum exposure times required for a good quality microstructure were obtained. Also, an equation for the thickness of an X-ray mask absorber was obtained from the exposure requirement of threshold dose deposition. The calculation method of the synchrotron radiation power from a synchrotron radiation source was introduced and applied to an X-ray exposure step. A power from a synchrotron radiation source was introduced and applied to an X-ray exposure step/ A power function of photon energy, approximating the attenuation length of the representative LIGA resist, PMMA, and the mean photon energy of the XZ-rays incident upon an X-ray mask absorber were applied to the above mentioned equations. Consequently, the tendencies of the minimum and maximum exposure and with respect to mean photon energy and thick ness of PMMA was obtained. Additionally, the tendencies of the necessary thickness of PMMA and photon energy of the X-ray mask absorber with respect to thickness of PMMA and photon energy of the X-rays incident upon an X-ray mask absorber were examined. The minimum exposure time increases monotonically with increasing mean photon energy for the same total power density and is not a function of the thickness of resist. The minimum exposure time increases with increasing mean photon energy for the same total power density in the case of the general LIGA process, where the thickness of PMMA is thinner than the attenuation length of PMMA. Additionally, the minimum exposure time increases monotonically with increasing thickness of PMMA. The maximally exposable thickness of resist is proportional to the attenuation length of the resist at the mean photon energy with its proportional constant of ln $(Dd_m/D_{dv})$. The necessary thickness of a gold X-ray mask absorber due to absorption edges of gold, increases smoothly with increasing PMMA thickness ratio, and is independent of the total power density itself. The simplicity of the derived equations has made clearly understandable the X-ray exposure phenomenon and the correlation among the exposure times, the attenuation coefficient and the thickness of an X-ray mask absorber, the attenuation coefficient and the thickness of the resist, and the synchrotron radiation power density.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to derive photon energy fluence and mass energy absorption coefficient for 1 Gy of absorbed dose of water in brachytherapy using an Ir¹⁹² source. From the radiotherapy physics written by Khan, the half-value of lead for the gamma ray beam of the Ir¹⁹² source was obtained. The linear attenuation coefficient and the mass attenuation coefficient were calculated from the obtained half-value layer of lead. By matching the calculated lead mass attenuation coefficient with the NIST mass attenuation coefficient data, the photon energy of the matching mass attenuation coefficient was determined as the effective energy. By matching the determined effective energy with the photon energy of the NIST data on the mass energy absorption coefficient of water, the mass energy absorption coefficient of water was obtained as 0.03273 cm²/g(32.73 cm²/kg). The photon energy fluence was calculated as 0.03055 J/cm² by dividing the obtained mass energy absorption coefficient (32.73 cm²/kg) by the absorbed dose of water 1 Gy.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.1364-1371
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• 2018

An extensive investigation of photon interaction properties has been made for $Zn_xTe_{100-x}$ alloys (where x = 5, 20, 30, 40, 50) to explore its possible use in sensing and shielding gamma radiations. The results show better and stable response of ZnTe alloys for various photon interaction properties over the wide energy range, with an additional benefit of ease in fabrication due to lower melting points of Zn and Te. Mass attenuation coefficient values show strong dependence on photon energy as well as composition. Effective atomic number has maximum value for $Zn_5Te_{95}$ and lowest for $Zn_{50}Te_{50}$ in the entire energy region. The alloy sample with maximum $Z_{eff}$ shows minimal value of $N_e$ and vice versa. Mean free path follows inverse trend as observed for mass attenuation coefficient. The exposure and energy absorption buildup factors depend upon photon energy, penetration thickness and composition (effective atomic number) of $Zn_xTe_{100-x}$ alloys. It finds its application for sensing and shielding from highly energetic and highly penetrating photons at sites where radioactive materials were used and visibility of material is not a big constraint. Further, energy down conversion property of ZnTe alloys with subsequent emission in green band suggests its potential use in sensing gamma photons.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.41-41
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• 2003

Purpose: Even if the wedge filter is widely used for the radiation therapy to modify the photon beam intensity, the wedged photon beam dose calculation is not so easy. Radiation therapy planning systems (RTPS) have been used the empirical or semi-analytical methods such as attenuation method using wedge filter parameters or wedge filter factor obtained from measurement. However, these methods can cause serious error in penumbra region as well as in edge region. In this study, we propose the dose calculation algorithm for wedged field to minimize the error especially in the outer beam region. Materials and Method: Modified intensity by wedge filter was calculated using tissue-maximum ratio (TMR) and scatter-maximum ratio (SMR) of wedged field. Profiles of wedged and non-wedged direction was also used. The result of new dose calculation was compared with measurement and the result from attenuation method. Results: Proposed algorithm showed the good agreement with measurement in the high dose-gradient region as well as in the inner beam region. The error was decreased comparing to attenuation method. Conclusion: Although necessary beam data for the RTPS commissioning was increased, new algorithm would guarantee the improved dose calculation accuracy for wedged field. In future, this algorithm could be adopted in RTPS.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3470-3477
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• 2022

Soils are porous materials with high shielding capability to attenuate gamma and X-rays. The disposal of radionuclides throughout the soil profile can expose the living organisms to ionizing radiation. Thus, studies aiming to analyze the shielding properties of the soils are of particular interest for radiation shielding. Investigations on evaluating the shielding capabilities of highly weathered soils are still scarce, meaning that additional research is necessary to check their efficiency to attenuate radiation. In this study, the radiation shielding properties of contrasting soils were evaluated. The radiation interaction parameters assessed were attenuation coefficients, mean free path, and half- and tenth-value layers. At low photon energies, the photoelectric absorption contribution to the attenuation coefficient predominated, while at intermediate and high photon energies, the incoherent scattering and pair production were the dominant effects. Soils with the highest densities presented the best shielding properties, regardless of their chemical compositions. Increases in the attenuation coefficient and decreases in shielding parameters of the soils were associated with increases in clay, Fe₂O₃, Al₂O₃, and TiO₂ amounts. In addition, this paper provides a comprehensive description of the shielding properties of weathered soils showing the importance of their granulometric fractions and oxides to the attenuation of the radiation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.2005-2012
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• 2019

This work investigated the radiation attenuation characteristics of three series of tellurite glass systems with the following compositions: 30PbO-10ZnO-xTeO₂-(60-x)B₂O₃ where x = 10, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mol%, xBaO-xB₂O₃-(100-2x)TeO₂ with x = 15-40 mol% and 50ZnO-(50-x)P₂O₅-xTeO₂, where x = 0, 10, .40 mol%. The results revealed that the attenuation parameters in all the samples decrease with increase in the energy, which implied that all the samples have better interaction with gamma photons at low energies and thus higher photon attenuating efficiency. From the three systems, the samples coded as PbZnBTe60, BaBTe70 and ZnPTe40 have the lowest half value layer values and accordingly have superior photon attenuation efficacy. The maximum effective atomic number values were found for energy less than 0.1 MeV particularly near the K-edges absorption of the heavy atomic number elements such as Te, Ba and Pb. At the lowest energy, the Z_eff values are found in the range of 62.33-66.25, 49.43-50.81 and 24.99-35.83 for series 1-3 respectively. Also, we found that the density of the glass remarkably affects the photon attenuation ability of the selected glasses. The mean free path results showed that the PbO-ZnO-TeO₂-B₂O₃ glass system has better radiation shielding efficiency than the glass samples in series 2 and 3.