Approximation of charge-deposition density in thin slabs irradiated by electrons

Charge-deposition distributions in thin slabs irradiated by plane-parallel electron beams are studied. The slabs considered are made of elements with atomic numbers ranging from 4 to 79. The slab thicknesses are from 0.5 to 50 mg/cm2, and the electron beam energies are from 1 to 10 MeV. Using a new Monte Carlo method (called the trajectory translation method), data on the charge-deposition density have been obtained. Theoretical analysis of these data has been performed. Based on this analysis, a semiempirical model that describes charge-deposition distributions in thin slabs has been developed. The results obtained by the semiempirical model have been compared with those obtained by the PENELOPE Monte Carlo code and show moderate agreement.