Irradiation of 135 MeV/u carbon and neon beams for studies of radiation biology

A heavy ion irradiation system was designed and constructed at RIKEN ring cyclotron facility for studies of radiation physics and radiation biology. Carbon and neon beams of 135 MeV/u were firstly used for the experiments. A pair of wobbler magnets and a scatterer were used for obtaining the uniform radiation field of about 10 cm in diameter. A parallel plate ionization chamber was used for dose monitoring. A range shifter was used for degrading the initial energy of the heavy ions. Precise depth dose distributions were measured by a small parallel plate ionization chamber and a variable length water column. LET (linear energy transfer) of the heavy ion radiation fields were measured by a parallel plate proportional chamber. From these basic measurements, biological experiments using these heavy ions are now carried out at this facility. (author)