Abstract
This work encompasses studies of two novel materials for radiation dosimetry as well establishment of a novel technique for dosimetry. Silica-based material and CNTs (carbon nanotubes) were used as passive radiation dosimeters. The atomic effective numbers (Zeff) for the silica-based materials (glass beads and optical fibres) are similar to that for the bone tissue, while carbon nanotubes have effective atomic number (Zeff) similar to that of human soft tissue. Present studies have been carried out seeking to improve upon the thermoluminescence (TL) yield of commercially produced small diameter telecommunication optical fibres as well as glass beads. Their small sizes make them of great interest as they can fulfil the Bragg–Gray cavity theory. In this thesis, demonstration is made of their utilities to measure the depth-dose profile for protons and neutrons at therapeutic energies range. In regard to carbon nanotubes, these were made in thin films (known as buckypaper) with various thickness ranging from ~10 to ~100 µm to fulfil two conditions; (i) satisfying the Bragg–Gray cavity theory, and; (ii) to present tissue equivalent material. The CNTs were examined in using conventional thermoluminescence technique. Then, a novel method of dosimetry was established by use of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).