Event Title

Radiation Dose Characterization of 400 KeV Heavy Ion Beam

Presenter Information

Scott Arneson, Minnesota State University Mankato
Donald Rudquist, Minnesota State University MankatoFollow
Evan Koehler, Minnesota State University Mankato
Morgan O'Brien, Minnesota State University Mankato
Wyatt Pouliot, Minnesota State University MankatoFollow

Location

CSU Ballroom

Start Date

18-4-2016 10:00 AM

End Date

18-4-2016 11:30 AM

Student's Major

Physics and Astronomy

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Andrew Roberts

Mentor's Department

Physics and Astronomy

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

We developed the characterization of the radiation dose rate produced by the 400KV Van de Graaff particle accelerator at the Applied Nuclear Science Lab at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The purpose was to establish operation parameters for providing known radiation doses for studies in materials science and biology. The radiation dose is surprisingly centered toward the low energy end of the accelerator, dominated by relatively low energy x-rays produced with the high current scattered beam. Beam generation and acceleration control were optimized to maximize the radiation dose available. Results show that the dose rate is proportional to the amount of beam current and strongly dependent on accelerating voltage. Also, we were able to reproducibly validate that the radiation dose rate is proportional to 1/R^2 as the position of the dosimeter is moved away from the radiation hotspot. A maximum radiation dose of 5.5 rad/hr was observed at the broad hotspot, allowing for a radiation dosage of over 100 rad per day.