Innovative thin silicon detectors for monitoring of therapeutic proton beams: preliminary beam tests

Abstract

To fully exploit the physics potentials of particle therapy in delivering doses with high accuracy and selectivity, charged particle therapy needs further improvement. To this scope, a multidisciplinary project (MoVeIT) of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) aims at translating research in charged particle therapy into clinical outcomes. New models in the treatment planning system are being developed and validated, using dedicated devices for beam characterization and monitoring in radiobiological and clinical irradiations. Innovative silicon detectors with an internal gain layer (LGAD) represent a promising option, overcoming the limits of currently used ionization chambers.\n\nTwo devices are being developed: one to directly count individual protons at high rates, exploiting the large signal-to-noise ratio and fast collection time in small thicknesses (1ns in 50 μm) of LGADs, the second to measure the beam energy with time-of-flight techniques, using LGADs optimized for excellent time resolutions (Ultra-Fast Silicon Detectors, UFSDs).\n\nThe preliminary results of the first beam tests with a therapeutic beam will be presented and discussed.