Studying the Flow of Secondary Particles in a Medical Electron Accelerator

Abstract

Flows of secondary electrons are studied using a medical electron accelerator with an energy of 20 MeV. The electrons are generated on the structural materials of the accelerator itself and in the treatment rooms. The experiments are based on means of activation based on (γ, n) and (n, γ) reactions on a detecting target of natural ¹⁸¹Ta tantalum. The irradiated tantalum targets are probed using a spectrometer with a large-volume ultrapure germanium detector. The energy distribution of neutrons is obtained using a spectrometer–dosimeter equipped with an organic scintillator. It is established that the flow of neutrons accounts for 7% of the flow of braking gamma-quanta.