RADIATION PRODUCTION & CHARACTERISTICS

Science OF ELECTRON WITH

TRIGGER 6 (UNIT 6 - INTERACTION
MATTER)

TOPICS:
1. Ionization
2. Excitation
3. Specific Ionization
4. Linear Energy Transfer
5. Electron interaction mechanism
5.1. Characteristic radiation
5.2. Bremsstrahlung radiation
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IONIZATION

• Ionization is the process of adding or

removing one or more electrons from an
atom or molecule, resulting in the formation
of ions.
• Ions are electrically charged particles that can
either have a positive or negative charge,
depending on whether they lost or gained
electrons.
• Ionization can occur through various
methods, including exposure to radiation,
chemical reactions, electrical discharges, and
thermal energy.
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EXCITATION

• In order to produce X-rays, a source of high-energy electrons (such as a cathode

ray tube) is aimed at a target material (usually a metal like tungsten or
molybdenum).
• When the high-energy electrons collide with the target material, they can
transfer some of their energy to the target atoms, causing the electrons in the
target atoms to become excited.
• Excited electrons in the target atoms may jump to higher energy levels, and
when they return to their original energy level they release energy in the form
of X-ray photons.
• The energy (or wavelength) of the X-rays produced depends on the amount of
energy released by the excited electrons as they return to their original energy
level.
• X-rays produced through excitation are often referred to as characteristic X-rays,
because their energy is specific to the type of atom in the target material that is
being excited.
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SPECIFIC IONIZATION

• Specific ionization is the number of ion pairs produced by a charged particle as it passes through a material.

• It is the process by which a charged particle transfers energy to a material by interacting with its atoms and molecules.

• The amount of specific ionization is related to the energy of the particle and the density of the material.

• Specific ionization can be used to measure the energy of a charged particle, such as in a particle detector.

• It is also used in radiation dosimetry, which is the measurement of the amount of radiation absorbed by a material.
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SPECIFIC IONIZATION

• Specific ionization is proportional to the charge of the particle, so heavier particles, such as alpha particles,
produce more ionization than lighter particles, such as electrons.

• It is a key concept in nuclear physics and particle physics, where it is used to study the interactions of
particles with matter.

• Specific ionization is often measured in units of MeV/cm or keV/μm.

• It is an important parameter in the design of radiation detectors, such as Geiger-Müller counters, and in the
calculation of radiation doses.
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ENERGY TRANSFER

• Linear energy transfer (LET) is a measure of the rate at which energy is deposited by ionizing radiation as it passes through a
material.

• It is defined as the amount of energy deposited per unit length of the radiation track.

• LET is expressed in units of keV/μm or MeV/cm.

• High-LET radiation deposits its energy over a shorter distance, causing more damage to biological tissues in a smaller area.

• Low-LET radiation, such as X-rays or gamma rays, deposits its energy over a longer distance and is less damaging to biological
tissues.

• LET is an important factor in determining the biological effects of ionizing radiation.

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ENERGY TRANSFER

• High-LET radiation, such as alpha particles or heavy ions, can cause more severe biological damage than
low-LET radiation.

• The concept of LET is used in the design of radiation shielding and in the development of radiation therapies
for cancer treatment.

• The biological effects of radiation exposure are influenced by both the LET of the radiation and the dose
received.

• LET is also used in the study of radiation effects on materials, such as in the testing of electronic components
for space applications.
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In diagnostic radiography interaction always occurs in the orbital
electrons.

3 possible fates awaits each photon

1. Penetration
• Penetrate section of matter without interaction
2. Absorption
• interact with matter and completely absorbed
by depositing its energy
3. Scattering
• interact and be scattered or defleted from its
original direction and deposit parts of its energy. no
longer carries useful information becasue their
direction is random, and are responsible for noise in
the image.
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Absorption and Scattering Process

There are 5 different process by which x-rays may be absorbed or scattered as they
pass through the medium, the first 3 of which play a role in Diagnostic Radiology and
in Nuclear Medicine

1. Coherent Scattering
2. Photoelectric Effect
3. Compton Scattering
4. Pair Production
5. Photodisintegration
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Coherent Scattering

Reffered by variety of name including Thomson, Rayleigh, Classical and

Unmodified scattering.

Name coherent is given to those Interaction in which radiation undergoes

change in direction without change in wavelenght.

When the energy of Incoming x ray photon is substantially less than the
binding energy of strongly bound orbital electron, it may occur.

J Thomson discovered classical scattering of x-ray with an electron.

John Rayleigh discovered x ray interaction and its momentarily absorption by

the entire cloud of electron collectively around an atom.
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Scattering Process

Low energy x rays those with energies below about 10 kev interact with target atom and
set them in vibration at the frequency of radiation
A vibrating electron because it is charged particle immediately releases the excess energy
as radiation.

Summarily:
• Absorption of Radiation
• Vibration of the Atom and
• Emission of Radiation
• Atoms returns to Undisturbed state.
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Properties

Scattered Radiation is with the wavelenght equal to that of Incident X ray.

No energy Transfer.

No lonizationa.

Accounts for less than 5 % in diagnostic

Radiography. At 70 kvp, 3% x-rays goes classical

scattering
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Compton Effect

Also called a Inelastic, nonclassic, Modified and Incoherent Scattering.

Discovered by American Physicist, Arthur Compton.

Interaction occurs between photons and outer sheel electron which

have negligible binding energy.

Electron is ejected from atom and photon is scattered with some

reduction in energy

Scatter x rays emerging from this interaction are called compton

scatter and ejected electron is reffered as recoil electron.
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Energy Distribution

Of the x ray photon's original energy, an amount equal to the binding energy goes into
ejecting the electron from its orbit, a small amount also translates into the kinetic
energy or speed with which the Electron is ejected and the remainder is reemitted as
the Compton scatter x ray.

Mathematicall, Ep= Es + Eb + Eke

• Ep = Energy of Incoming x ray photon
• Es= Energy of scatter X ray
• Eb= Absolute value of Binding Energy
• E ke= Kinetic energy of ejcted electron.
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Sample Problem:

Within the patients body a 40 kVp x-ray undergoes a Compton interaction with an L-
shell electron in a calcum atom. The absolute value for the binding energy of the L shell
is 0.5 KV (rounded). The recoil electron speeds away from the atom with 5 kV of kinetic
energy. What is the energy of the Compton scattered photon?

• Solution: 40KV (incoming) = Es + O5KV (binding) + 5 AV (kinetic energy)

• Es = 40 - 0.5 - 5 = 34.5

• Answer: The sattered Compion photon wil have 34.5 kV of energy:

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• Since binding energies for body tissues are quite low, and only small amounts of
energyare likely to be imparted to the ejiected electron as kineti energy, the sattered
photon carries most of the energy from the original x-ray.

• This is important to know because it means that scattered radiation, having only
slightly less energy than the original x-ray beam, is very likely to penetrate out of the
patients body and reach the image receptor.

• Therefore, scattered radiation has a substantial impact upon the information reaching
the detector.
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Conclusion for Compton Scatterring

97 % of scatter x rays originate from compton interaction.

Photoelectric effect = subject contrast but compton scattering = scatter radiation.

Compton works in opposite to photoelectric effect.

Scattered x rays from Compton interaction can create serious radiation exposure hazard
in Fluroscopy.
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Photoelectric Effect
Science
The photoelectric effect can occur when an incident photon has energy
equal to or greater than the binding energy of electron in atom.

Photon can ionize the atom by ejecting an electron from a shell.

Photon gives all its energy to the atom.

Secondary electron / Photoelectron ejected with K.E equal to the energy

equal to the energy of the incident photon minus the binding energy.

Vacant site fulfilled by electron jumping inward from another shell farther
away from Nucleus, accompanied by emmission of characteristic X radiation
in the form of secondary photon whose energy is equal to difference
between the binding energies of two shells involved.
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Energy Transform is 2 step process.

The 1st is, photon transfers all its energy to an electron located in one of the atomic shell and the
electron is ejected from the atom known as photoelectron and begins to pass through surrounding
matter penetrates tissues but never out of patients body and never reach IR.

Finally that Photoelectron deposits the energy in the surrounding.

Summarily, photon energy is divided in two portion :

A portion of the energy is used to overcome electrons binding energy and to remove it from atom.
The remaining energy is transferred to electron as KE and is deposited near interaction site.
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Vacancy Fullfilment

Since the interaction creates vacancy in one of the Electron shell, typically K or L.

An electron moves down to fill in.

The drop in energy of filling electron often produces a characteristics × ray photon which is the
characteristics of each element.

This effect yields three end product:

1. Characteristic Radiation
2. Negative lon ( The Photo electron)
3. A positive lon ( An atom deficient one electron)
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Probability of Occurence of Photoelectric Effect

1. The Incident photon must have sufficient energy to overcome the

binding energy of the electron.
2. A photoelectric reaction is most likely to occur when the photon energy
and electron binding are nearly the same.
3. The tighter an electron is bound in its orbit , the more likely it is to be
involved in photoelectric reaction.
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Pair Production

Do not occur in Diagnostic Radiology

The high energy photon interacts with the nuclues of an atom.
Photon Disappears.
Its energy is converted in into matter in the form of two
particles.

One is electron and other is positron, a matter with mass as an

electron but with positive charge .

Cannot take place with photon energies less than

1.02MeV. Produces two electron with mass of one equal to
0.51 MeV.
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Process of Pair Production

Incoming X ray photon strongly interacts with nucleus.

Energy of Photon is transformed into two new particle: A negatron ( an ordinary

electron) and a positron ( positevely charged electron).

They have same mass and magnitude but different sign.

The electron loses its Kinetic Energy by excitation and lonizing atoms and is captured
by an atom in need of electron.
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Positron acts destructively with nearby electron.

During this Interaction positron and electron annihilate each other, a conversion of
mass into Energy inaccordance with Einsteins's , theory of relativity as E= mc 2

This energy that appears from annihilation of electron and positron is carried off by
two 0.511 MeV photon moving in opposite direction.

Annihilation Radiation is used in Positron Emission Tomography PET)

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Photodisintegration

Occurs with energy more than 10 Mev.

Part of Nucleus of atom is ejected by a high energy

photon.

The ejected portion may be a neutron, a proton, an

alpha particle or a cluster of Particles..

The photon must have sufficient energy to

overcome nuclear binding energies of the order of
7
- 15 MeV.
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Process of photodisintegration

A high energy photon collides with the nucleus of an atom, which directly
absorps the photon energy .

This energy excess creates an Instability that in result emits neutron by the
nucleus.

Other types of emissions, a proton or proton neutron combination or even

alpha particles are possible if sufficient energy is absorbed by the Nucleus.
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Summary
Two Interaction of x radiation : photoelectric absorption and Compton scattering are of Important in Diagnostic
Radiology

The photoelectric Effect is the basis of Radiographic Imaging wheareas the compton effect is its bane.

Within the energy range of Diagnostic Radiology 23 to 150 kvp which also includes mammography, when kvp is
decreased the number of photoelectric interaction increases but the compton interaction decreases however dose to
patient increases.

When kvp is increased patient receives a lower dose but the image quality is compromised.

Compton Effect is responsible for vast majority of scatter Radiation.

If coherent scattering accounts for the 5% of the interaction, compt scattering for 20 %, and the photoelectric effect for
75%, the total 100%.
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• Coherent scattering (also known as

Thompson scattering):
• A low-energy X-ray photon interacts
with an atom and causes the atom's
electrons to vibrate, producing a
scattered X-ray photon with the
same energy and wavelength as the
original photon.
• Does not result in energy transfer to
the atom or ionization of the atom.
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• Photoelectric effect:
• A high-energy X-ray photon
interacts with an atom and
transfers all its energy to an
inner-shell electron, which is
then ejected from the atom,
creating a vacancy.
• Results in ionization of the atom
and absorption of the X-ray
photon.
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• Compton scattering:
• A high-energy X-ray photon interacts
with an outer-shell electron and
transfers some of its energy to the
electron, causing it to be ejected
from the atom.
• The scattered X-ray photon has less
energy and longer wavelength than
the original photon.
• Results in ionization of the atom and
some absorption of the X-ray
photon.
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• Pair production:
• A very high-energy X-ray photon
interacts with the electromagnetic
field surrounding an atom and
creates a positron-electron pair.
• The positron and electron then
interact with other atoms, losing
their kinetic energy and eventually
annihilating each other, producing
two high-energy photons.
• Only occurs at X-ray energies
greater than 1.02 MeV.
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• Photodisintegration:
• A very high-energy X-ray photon
interacts with the nucleus of an
atom and causes it to become
excited or to break apart.
• Results in the emission of other
particles, such as neutrons, protons,
or alpha particles, in addition to
X-ray photons.
• Only occurs at X-ray energies
greater than 10 MeV.