Chapter 5

Interactions of Ionizing Radiation

Reference:
Khan and Gibbons, “The Physics of Radiation Therapy”, 5th ed. 2014,
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Chapter 5 ‘Interactions of Ionizing Radiation’.

1
 Interactions of Ionizing Radiation

scattered
electron

ionization and
excitation Knock-out
incoming electron,
photon secondary
electron, d-ray
interact with
the medium scattered photon with
reduced energy

2
 5.1 Ionization
scattered
electron Ionization: The energy lost by
the incident particle is
sufficiently large to remove an
electron from the atom,
resulting in an ion pair
incident (negative charged electron &
electron positive charged atom).
scattered
electron

Excitation: The energy lost by

the incident particle is
insufficient to cause
ionization, but leaving the
atom in an excited state.

3
5.1 Ionization
5.1 Ionization (cont’d)

Directly ionizing radiation: charged particles (electrons,

protons, -particles) produce large amount of ionization in its
energy loss to the medium. (Example: it takes approx. 34 eV
to produce 1 ion pair in air. Thus, for an electron to lose 1
MeV of its energy, approx. 30,000 ion pairs are produced.)
Indirectly ionizing radiation: neutral particles (photons,
neutrons) themselves produce very little ion pairs. Instead,
they eject directly ionizing particles from the medium.
(Example: a 2-MeV photon, upon interacting with the medium,
loses about 1-MeV of its energy, but producing only 1 pair of
ions.)

4
5.1 Ionization
5.2 Photon Beam Description
dN
Fluence (): The quotient of dN
by da where dN is the number of da
photons that enter an imaginary
sphere of cross-sectional area da:   dN / da
Fluence rate or flux density (): The fluence per unit of time
  d / dt
Energy Fluence (): The quotient of dEfl by da, where dEfl
is the energies of all photons that enter an imaginary sphere
of cross-sectional area da:   dE fl / da If all photons
have the same energy (monoenergetic), then: dE fl  dN  h
Energy fluence rate, energy flux density, or intensity ():
The energy fluence per unit of time:   d / dt
5
5.2 Photon Beam Description
5.3 Photon Beam Attenuation (mono-energetic photon beam)
collimator
transmitted photon
Incident fluence
photon
fluence detector
attenuator
scattered
photons

N: number of photons. I: intensity of photon beam.

dN  Ndx dI   Idx
dN   Ndx dI
  dx
 is the linear attenuation coefficient I
(probability of interaction per unit I ( x )  I 0 e  x
pathlength)
HVL = 0.693/
6
5.3 Photon Beam Attenuation
5.3 Photon Beam Attenuation (mono-energetic photon beam)
100 100
transmission   12 
n
0.693
HVL 
50  50
Transmitted intensity (%)

10 10

HVL = 2cm

1 1
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 1 2 3 4 5
Absorber thickness (cm) Absorber thickness (HVL)
7
5.3 Photon Beam Attenuation
Example:
Suppose the HVL for a 6-MV beam is 1.4 cm cerrobend,
what is the transmission through a 7 cm cerrobend block?

7 cm / 1.4 cm = 5, (that is, 5 HVLs)

Transmission = (1/2)5 = 1/32 ~ 3.1%

8
5.3 Photon Beam Attenuation (poly-energetic photon beam)
100

50
Transmitted intensity (%)

50

25

12.5
10

1st HVL 2nd HVL

3rd HVL

1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Absorber thickness (mm Al)
9
5.3 Photon Beam Attenuation
5.4 Coefficients (attenuation coefficients)

Linear attenuation coefficient:  (cm-1)

 depends on photon energy and the nature of the material.

Mass attenuation coefficient: / (cm2/g)

 1
Electronic attenuation coefficient: e = 
 N0
(cm2/electron)
NA  Z
N0 is the number of electrons per gram N0 
Aw
 Z
atomic attenuation coefficient: a = 
 N0
(cm2/atom)

10
5.4 Coefficients
 scattered
electron
ionization and
excitation, Een
Bremsstrahlung
photon, g
incoming Etr
photon
with
energy h interact with
the medium,  scattered photon with
reduced energy

11
5.4 Coefficients (energy transfer coefficients)

Etr
Energy transfer coefficient:  tr   (cm-1)
h
Etr is the average energy transferred into kinetic energy of
charged particle per interaction, hv is the original photon
energy.

Mass Energy transfer coefficient: tr/ (cm2/g)

12
5.4 Coefficients
 5.4 Coefficients (energy absorption coefficients)

Energy absorption coefficient: en = tr (1-g) (cm-1)

‘g’ is the fraction of the energy of secondary charged particles

that is lost to bremsstrahlung in the material.

Thus, en represents the energy absorbed locally in the material.

Mass Energy absorption coefficient: en/ (cm2/g)

In soft tissues (low Z materials), g  0. Thus, en  tr .

13
5.4 Coefficients
5.5 Interactions of Photons with Matter
In the energy range of radiation therapy, 4 types of
interaction of photons with matter are of interest:

• Compton Effect (c/)

scattering

• Photoelectric Effect (/)

absorption
• Pair Production (k/)
• Coherent Scattering (coh/)
• Photon Disintegration

/ = c/ + / + k/ + coh/

14
5.5 Interactions of Photons with Matter
 5.5 Interactions of Photons with Matter (cont’d)
In radiological physics, the range of energies of interest is from
1 keV to ~50 MeV. Within this range, the following types of
interaction with matter are relevant.
Increasing energy of the incident photon

Scattering
Type of Photoelectric Pair
interaction effect () Coherent (coh) Compton (c) production (k)

1 electron, 1 electron,
Outgoing characteristic x- 1 photon 1 positron,
1 photon
particles rays or auger (reduced 1 electron
electrons energy)
Dominant Only
Dominant event No energy loss,
event for important for
Remarks for diagnostic small angle
therapeutic high-Z
applications scattering
applications materials

/ = c/ + / + k/ + coh/

15
5.5 Interactions of Photons with Matter
 5.6 Coherent Scattering

Lord Rayleigh
(1842-1919) 

Also known as classical or Rayleigh

scattering.
Scattered photon change direction,
but no energy loss.
Only probable in high-Z material
and at low photon energy.
Not important for radiation therapy.

16
5.6 Coherent Scattering
5.7 Photoelectric Effect discovered by Einstein in 1905
Characteristic Auger
x-ray electron
Albert Einstein
(1879-1955)

Incident photon absorbed by the

K L M
atom, an electron (most likely K-
shell) is ejected with a kinetic photon
hv
energy equal to hv – EB.
The vacancy is filled by an outer
shell electron, thereby emitting a
characteristic x-ray.
photo-
The characteristic x-ray itself may be absorbed, (hv – EB) electron
and ejects an Auger electron.
17
5.7 Photoelectric Effect
• For photon energies above the K-shell binding energy, the most
probable electron to be ejected from the atom is the K-electron.
This is because in order to conserve the momentum, the
involved electron must be bound to the atom. The entire atom
recoils (ever so slightly) to conserve the momentum.
(Photoelectric effect cannot happen on a free electron!)
• It follows then (qualitatively speaking), the more tightly bound
electron (i.e. K-shell) is more likely to be involved in a
photoelectric event, provided the incoming photon has energy
above the binding energy.
• Moreover, the probability decreases with increasing photon
energy (because the electron appears to be less tightly bound
to the atom).

18
5.7 Photoelectric Effect
5.7 Photoelectric Effect (cont’d)
L-shell binding
energy ~15 keV
Mass photoelectric attenuation coefficient

100
K-shell binding
energy ~88 keV
   1 E3
10

   Z3
(, cm2/g)

0.1 lead    Z 3 E3
0.01
water

0.01 0.1 1 10
Photon energy (MeV)
19
5.7 Photoelectric Effect
 5.8 Compton Effect

e- (Compton electron)

hv0 


Arthur Compton hv’

(1892-1962)
Incident photon interacts with a
‘free’ electron.
The electron is ejected at angle
 with energy E.
The photon is scattered at angle
 with a reduced energy hv’.
20
5.8 Compton Effect
Kinematics:

Energy Conservation: T  h  h '

Conservation of momentum h h '
along the original direction (0o)
 cos   p cos 
c c
Conservation of momentum h '
perpendicular to the sin   p sin 
direction of incidence c
21
5.8 Compton Effect
Relativistic relationship

m0
m mo : electron’s rest mass
1  
v 2
c moc2 = 0.511 MeV

T  mc  m0 c
2 2
m : electron’s relativistic mass

p  mv

 pc  T (T  2m0c2 )
22
5.8 Compton Effect
 Energy-Angle Relation in a Compton Collision

1
h '  hv
1   (1  cos )
 (1  cos )
T  hv   hv / m0c 2  hv( MeV ) / 0.511
1   (1  cos )

cot   (1   ) tan( 2 )

23
5.8 Compton Effect
 Special cases of Compton Effect

1
h '  hv
1   (1  cos  )
 (1  cos  )
T  hv
1   (1  cos  )

1 2
Direct hit,  = 0,  = 180: h min  h , Tmax  h
'

1  2 1  2

Grazing hit,  = 90,  = 0: h '  h , T 0

24
5.8 Compton Effect
 Special cases:

hv
h ' 
1  (hv / m0c 2 )(1  cos )

90 photon scatter ( = 90);

hv
h '  For large h, hv’ moc2  0.511 MeV
1  (hv / m0c 2 )

180 photon scatter ( = 180);

hv
h '  For large h , h’ (moc2)/2 0.255 MeV
1  2(hv / m0c 2 )
25
5.8 Compton Effect
 T  h  h '
1
h '  hv
1   (1  cos  )
 (1  cos  )
T  hv
1   (1  cos  )
  hv / m0c 2  hv( MeV ) / 0.511

Low energy incident photons: h <<m0c2, then   0, h’  h

High energy incident photons: h >>m0c2, then  >>1, T → h

26
5.8 Compton Effect
 5.8 Compton Effect (Dependence of Compton Effect on
Energy and Atomic Number)

Compton effect involves

interaction of photon with Compton effect decreases with
individual electrons, 1 increasing photon energy.

Compton coefficient
therefore its coefficient
depends on the number of
electrons per gram.
0.1
  ZNA/A
Since Z/A is nearly
constant (1/2) for low-Z
materials, it follows that 0.01 0.1 1 10

 is also nearly the same Photon energy (MeV)

for all such materials. 27
5.8 Compton Effect
• Because of the Z3-dependence, photoelectric effect is
particularly important for diagnostic applications. The
images of bones (Zeff~12) and soft-tissues (Zeff~7.5)
can be more easily separated. This is why the photon
energies used in diagnostics are usually between 30
keV to ~120 keV.

• In contrast, the energies used for therapeutic are

typically above 1 MeV. In this energy range, the
dominant event is compton scattering, for which the
mass attenuation coefficient is Z-independent. Thus,
the difference between bones & soft tissues is entirely
due to the difference in physical density.

28
 Carl D Anderson 5.9 Pair Production
(1905-1991)

The photon interacts with the e- (electron)

electromagnetic field of the nucleus and
gives up all its energy in the process of
creating a pair of electron (e-) and
positron (e+). hv>1.02 MeV

Since the rest mass energy of each particle is

0.51 MeV, the photon energy must be greater
than 1.02 MeV for this interaction to happen.
The total kinetic energy carried by the pair is
(hv – 1.02) MeV. e+ (positron)

29
5.9 Pair Production
5.9 Pair Production (cont’d)

Annihilation: The positron loses its

energy as it traverses through the hv=0.511MeV
medium. Near the end of its track,
with almost no energy left, the
positron combines with an electron e+
and the total mass of these two e-
particles is converted into two
photons, each with 0.511 MeV,
ejected in opposite directions. hv=0.511 MeV
(This is the principle on which
PET works.)

30
5.9 Pair Production
5.9 Pair Production (cont’d)

Pair production coefficient

1

a  Z2
Pair production coefficient
0.1 increases with photon energy.

0.1 1 10 100

Photon energy (MeV)

31
5.9 Pair Production
 5.10 Relative Importance of Various Types of Interations

For low-Z
materials

Lower photon energies : Photoelectric effect

Medium photon energies : Compton effect
Higher photon energies : Pair production
32
5.10 Relative Importance of Various Types of Interations
33
5.10 Dependence of attenuation coefficient with energy

L-shell binding
energy ~15 keV
10
Mass attenuation coefficient (cm2/g)

K-shell binding
energy ~88 keV

1 (for illustration only)

lead
water
0.1

0.01 0.1 1 ~3 MeV 10 ~50 MeV

Photon energy (MeV)
34
5.10 Relative Importance of Various Types of Interations
 5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
• ‘Soft’ collisions – ionization and excitation
• ‘Hard’ (or “Knock-On) collisions – production of d-ray
• Coulomb-Force interaction with the nuclear field – production of bremsstrahlung
• Nuclear Interactions by Heavy Charged Particles
hv’’
e-

dray
hv0

hv’

• Compton Effect (c/)

• Photoelectric Effect (/)
• Pair Production (κ/)
• Coherent Scattering (coh/)
35
5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
 5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
Interaction of charged particles with matter:
• interacts with the atoms continuously,
• small energy transfer for each interaction,
• characterized by a common pathlength (range).

S: (linear) stopping power, hv’’

energy loss per unit pathlength e-
dE/dx.
S/: mass stopping power dray
(MeV cm2/g) hv0

hv’
Interaction of photons with matter :
• discrete events,
• potentially large energy transfer to electrons,
• characterized by exponential attenuation.
36
5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
A. Heavy Charged Particles
• Light particles: electrons, positrons, mass~1/1840 of the mass of a proton.
• Heavy: protons, mesons, a-particles, and atomic nuclei (e.g. 12C)
dE z 2 z: charge of the particle,
 2
dx v v: speed of the particle.
Bragg peak
Proton beam
100
dose

50

0
0 4 8 12 16 20
Depth in water (cm)
37
5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
B. Electrons
Because of their relatively small mass, the electrons suffer greater multiple
scattering and changes in the direction of motion. As a consequence, the
Bragg peak is not observed for electrons. Multiple changes in direction
during the slowing down process smear out the Bragg peak.

electron beam

38
5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
 5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
B. Electrons
If the stripped electron receives sufficient
energy to produce an ionization track of its
In water or soft tissue, own. This ejected electron is called a
electrons lose energy e- secondary electron, or a d ray.
predominantly by
ionization and excitation. dray, E>D
This results in deposition
of energy or absorbed
dose in the medium.

an electron may also interact with the

electromagnetic field of a nucleus and be
decelerated so rapidly that a part of its
energy is lost as bremsstrahlung.

39
5.11 Interactions of Charged Particles
 5.12 Interactions of Neutrons
• Neutrons are indirectly ionizing, they interact with matter basically by two
processes: scattering and nuclear reaction.
• In scattering, the neutron kinetic energy is redistributed after the collision
between the colliding particles. The energy transfer is very efficient if the
colliding particles have the same mass (e.g., a neutron colliding with a hydrogen
nucleus, i.e. proton). On the other hand, the neutron loses very little energy when
colliding with a heavier nucleus.

Incoming
neutron
Colliding
nucleus
• Thus, the most efficient absorbers of a neutron beam are the hydrogenous
materials such as paraffin wax or polyethylene. Lead, which is a very good
absorber for x-rays, is a poor shielding material against neutrons.
• Dose deposited in tissue from a high-energy neutron beam is predominantly
contributed by recoil protons. Because of the higher hydrogen content, the dose
absorbed in fat exposed to a neutron beam is about 20% higher than in muscle.
40
5.12 Interactions of Neutrons
 5.12 Interactions of Neutrons
Nuclear reactions produced by neutrons result in the emission of heavy charged
particles, neutrons, and γ-rays and give rise to the tissue dose. Because of such
diverse secondary radiation produced by neutron interactions, the neutron
dosimetry is relatively more complicated than the other types of clinical beams.
Boron Neutron Capture Therapy
Thermal neutron E=1.47 MeV

particle

B-10
ELi-7=0.84 MeV

Li-7 g-ray

41
5.12 Interactions of Neutrons
5.13 Comparative Beam Characteristics
Depth dose distributions of neutrons compared with Co-60.

42
5.13 Comparative Beam Characteristics
5.13 Comparative Beam Characteristics
Depth dose distributions of various heavy ions compared with neutrons.

43
5.13 Comparative Beam Characteristics
5.13 Comparative Beam Characteristics
Depth dose distributions of protons compared with electrons.

44
5.13 Comparative Beam Characteristics
 Proton Therapy
“Radiological Use of Fast Protons”, Robert R Wilson, Research Laboratory of
Physics, Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts, Radiology 47 (1946),
487-491

Proton Bragg peak

Sharp dose
beam fall off

range

45
 Depth doses of 6-MV photons
and protons of various energies

46 46
[Link]/ProtonBeam/[Link]
47 47
 Depth doses of 15-MV photons and
SOBP (spread-out-Bragg-peak) protons

48
[Link]/ProtonBeam/[Link]