A method of obtaining neutron dose and dose equivalent from digital measurements and analysis of recoil-particle tracks.

The feasibility of a digital approach to neutron dosimetry has been investigated. Such an approach uses an ionization detector capable of measuring the numbers of electrons produced within various subvolumes of a chamber gas along a charged-particle track. In addition, a computer algorithm is used to infer absorbed dose, LET, and dose equivalent given this digital track-structure information for each event. This paper describes one detector design capable of providing digital track-structure information and discusses examples of proton and C-ion tracks calculated from a Monte Carlo charged-particle transport code. The associated computer algorithm is presented next with its verification accomplished by running a variety of recoil particles through a simulated detector volume and comparing the resulting average energy deposition and dose equivalent to those unfolded by the algorithm.

One-atom detection in individual ionization tracks.

A major advance in one-atom detection using laser photoionization makes it possible to detect with microsecond time resolution single neutral atoms resulting from the stopping of energetic heavy ions in a buffer gas. This detection at the one-atom level, which gives the first direct evidence of nearly complete charge neutralization of stopped energetic ions, is shown to be possible even under the extremely adverse conditions associated with a densely ionized particle track.