A free-air ionization chamber with a large aperture diaphragm

Calculations of the electric field distributions in free-air ionization chambers reveal that the distortion of the charge collection volume is small even for wide X-ray beam passage if the diaphragm and the X-ray shielding box are kept at a potential equal to half that applied to the high-voltage electrode. Applying this potential to the diaphragm and the shielding box permits a larger aperture diaphragm to be used. This will allow a wider X-ray beam to enter the chamber, thus generating a larger signal. In addition, the distance between the diaphragm and the charge collection volume can be shortened to reduce the amount of X-ray attenuation. It is also possible to calibrate a dosimeter against a free-air ionization chamber that has a diaphragm whose aperture size is equal to the size of the dosimeter in an X-ray field that is collimated to the same size. This is important since free-air ionization chambers are not sensitive to X-rays that are incident at large angles, such as those scattered by the collimator, filters and air. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.