A novel TEPC for microdosimetry at nanometric level: response against different neutron fields

Tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) is the most accurate device for measuring the microdosimetric properties of a particle beam, nevertheless no detailed information on the track structure of the impinging particles can be obtained, since the lower operation limit of common TEPCs is ∼0.3 μm. On the other hand, the pattern of particle interactions at the nanometer level is measured by only three different nano-dosimeters worldwide: practical instruments are not yet available. In order to partially fill the gap between microdosimetry and track-nanodosimetry, a low-pressure avalanche-confinement TEPC was recently designed and constructed for simulating tissue-equivalent sites down to the nanometric region. The present article aims at describing the response of this newly developed TEPC in the range 0.3 ∼m-25 nm against a fast neutron field from a ²⁴¹Am-Be source and a quasi-monoenergetic neutron beam. The experimental results are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations carried out with the FLUKA code. (authors)