Characterization of low energy X-rays beams with an extrapolation chamber

In laboratories involving Radiological Protection practices, it is usual to use reference radiations for calibrating dosimeters and to study their response in terms of energy dependence. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established four series of reference X-rays beams in the ISO- 4037 standard: the L and H series, as low and high air Kerma rates, respectively, the N series of narrow spectrum and W series of wide spectrum. The X-rays beams with tube potential below 30 kV, called 'low energy beams' are, in most cases, critical as far as the determination of their parameters for characterization purpose, such as half-value layer. Extrapolation chambers are parallel plate ionization chambers that have one mobile electrode that allows variation of the air volume in its interior. These detectors are commonly used to measure the quantity Absorbed Dose, mostly in the medium surface, based on the extrapolation of the linear ionization current as a function of the distance between the electrodes. In this work, a characterization of a model 23392 PTW extrapolation chamber was done in low energy X-rays beams of the ISO- 4037 standard, by determining the polarization voltage range through the saturation curves and the value of the true null electrode spacing. In addition, the metrological reliability of the extrapolation chamber was studied with measurements of the value of leakage current and repeatability tests; limit values were established for the proper use of the chamber. The PTW23392 extrapolation chamber was calibrated in terms of air Kerma in some of the ISO radiation series of low energy; the traceability of the chamber to the National Standard Dosimeter was established. The study of energy dependency of the extrapolation chamber and the assessment of the uncertainties related to the calibration coefficient were also done; it was shown that the energy dependence was reduced to 4% when the extrapolation technique was used. Finally, the first half-value layers were determined for the low energy ISO N series with the extrapolation chamber, in collimated and uncollimated beams and it was showed that this detector is feasible for such measurements. (author)