Search arXivSearch

arXiv · 2409.20091

electronCT -- An Imaging Technique Using Very-high Energy Electrons

Abstract

The electronCT technique is an imaging method based on the multiple Coulomb scattering of relativistic electrons and has potential applications in medical and industrial imaging. It utilizes a pencil beam of electrons in the very high energy electron (VHEE, 50-250 MeV) range and a single detection layer for the determination of the beam profile. The technique constitutes a projectional, two-dimensional imaging method and thus also qualifies for the tomographic reconstruction of samples. Given the simplicity of the technical setup and its location behind the sample, the electronCT technique has potential synergies with VHEE radiotherapy, making use of the same electron source for both treatment and diagnostics and thus being a candidate for in-situ imaging and patient localization. At the same time, several technical challenges arise from the measurement technique when applied for the imaging of living beings. Measurements performed at the ARES linear particle accelerator at an electron energy of 155 MeV using a mouse phantom and a Timepix3 silicon pixel detector assembly demonstrate the feasibility of this technique. Both projectional and tomographic reconstructions are presented and the potential and limits of the technology are discussed.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Paul Schütze, Aenne Abel, Florian Burkart, L. Malinda S. de Silva, Hannes Dinter, Kevin Dojan, Adrian Herkert, Sonja Jaster-Merz, Max Joseph Kellermeier, Willi Kuropka, Frank Mayet, Sara Ruiz Daza, Simon Spannagel, Thomas Vinatier, Håkan Wennlöf. 2024-09-30. electronCT -- An Imaging Technique Using Very-high Energy Electrons. https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.20091

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

TCAD + Allpi$\text{x}^2$ Simulation study of MALTA2, a Depleted Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor for future tracking

In this work, a hybrid simulation framework combining TCAD and Allpi$\text{x}^2$ is presented to investigate the sensor properties of MALTA2, a depleted monolithic active pixel sensor designed for future tracking. The study starts from 3D modeling and transient simulations in TCAD, with generic doping profiles and simple well structures. The resulting doping profiles and electric field are extracted and fed into Allpi$\text{x}^2$ for high-statistics Monte Carlo simulations in both DUT-only and full-telescope mode. Simulations reveal a strong dependence of sensor performance, specifically the detection efficiency and cluster size, on the doping concentration of the N-type blanket at the sensor surface. The doping concentration is then optimized by comparing simulations with measurement data. The active depth of the depleted region of the MALTA2 sensor is estimated in both simulations and measurements using a grazing angle method, in which the sensor is positioned at various inclinations relative to the beam, covering angles from 0 to 60 degrees. Excellent agreement on active depth is obtained with the optimal doping concentration, showing a deviation of 2\% from the measured value at a threshold of 450\,$\text{e}^-$. Consequently, the framework offers a generic toolkit for sensor studies without requiring proprietary information.

physics.ins-det

A compact fibre-coupled active beamstop for fast time-resolved monitoring of synchrotron X-ray beams

We have developed a compact fibre-coupled active beamstop for simultaneous interception and time-resolved monitoring of the direct X-ray beam in synchrotron diffraction experiments. The complete beamstop tip has a maximum transverse dimension of 1 mm and incorporates a 700 $μ$m-wide Ce:YAG scintillator. The scintillator converts the intercepted X-rays into visible light, which is transported through a multimode optical fibre to a silicon photodiode at the bottom of the blade that is connected to a dedicated fast amplifier electronics. Tests with a pulsed laser yielded a system decay time of 69.4 ns, consistent with reported luminescence decay times for Ce:YAG. Measurements at the P14.EH2 end station of PETRA III demonstrated the detection of individual bunch signals separated by 192 ns in the 40-bunch operating mode. The active beamstop also provided an in-situ timing signal for synchronising an experimental sequence with the approximately 190 $μ$s transmission window of a mechanical X-ray chopper. The device therefore combines a compact obstruction of the direct beam with fast monitoring of X-ray timing and flux during diffraction data acquisition.

physics.ins-det

Charge-Carrier transport simulations in diamond detectors with electric-field-dependent mobility and charge-collection-distance-based trapping

Diamond detectors are attractive for operation in harsh radiation environments because they combine radiation tolerance, fast signal formation, and low leakage current. Realistic detector-response simulations require an accurate description of charge-carrier mobility and trapping, which determine both signal amplitude and timing. In this work, we extend \allpix{}, a modular end-to-end detector simulation framework, with diamond-specific transport models. The implementation includes field-dependent mobility parameterizations for electrons and holes and an effective trapping model based on the charge collection distance (CCD), providing a detector-level interface to material quality and radiation-damage measurements. The mobility description is validated in the negligible-trapping limit using single-crystalline CVD diamond by comparing simulated drift velocities and transient-current signals with published reference data. For polycrystalline CVD diamond, the CCD-based trapping model is evaluated using experimentally measured CCD values and compared with laboratory transient-current-technique waveforms. The simulations reproduce the measured drift-velocity behavior in scCVD and the reduced charge collection and degraded transient response observed in pcCVD. The presented implementation enables detector-level studies of charge collection, pulse formation, and timing performance in diamond sensors using experimentally accessible transport and trapping parameters, and provides a practical framework for simulation-driven detector development and radiation-damage studies.

physics.ins-det