Lec-3: August 23, 2025

Radiation Physics
Photon Beam Attenuation
 Attenuation vs Absorption

When photons interact with matter three things can occur. The photon may be:

➢ Transmitted through the material unaffected

➢ Scattered in a different direction from that traveled by the incident
photon
➢ Absorbed by the material such that no photon emerges
 Attenuation vs Absorption
Radiation a
Source
Detector

d c

➢ Initial photons produced by the source (the “primary”) and the photons created by the initial photon
interaction (the “secondary”).
➢ The “primary” photon will either be absorbed or unaffected by passage through the material as indicated
by “b”.
➢ The “secondary” photons may be absorbed such as “d” in the slide or they may be scattered such as “a”
and “c” which means that their direction has been changed so that they are not detected in the forward
direction. They were not absorbed but they are no longer traveling in the same direction as the incident
photon.
 Attenuation vs Absorption

Attenuation of the photon beam can be considered as a combination of

scattering and absorption.

Attenuation = Scattered + Absorbed

If the photons are scattered or absorbed, they are no longer traveling in

the direction of the intended target.
 Mono-energetic Radiation

• all photons in beam have same energy

• attenuation results in
• Change in beam quantity
• no change in beam quality
• Number of photons & total energy of beam changes by same
fraction
 Attenuation Formula
N = No e -x
where
N = Number of incident photons OR # photons penetrating absorber of 0 thickness
o
N = Number of transmitted photons
e = base of natural logarithm (2.718…)
 = linear attenuation coefficient (1/cm); property of energy and material
x = absorber thickness (cm)
N N
o

Mono-energetic radiation beam

 If x=0 (no absorber)
N = No e -x
where
N = number of incident photons
o
N = number of transmitted photons
e = base of natural logarithm (2.718…)
 = linear attenuation coefficient (1/cm); property of
energy
material N N
o
x = absorber thickness (cm)

X=0
Mono-energetic radiation beam
 Exponential Attenuation

-x
I = Io e

 is called linear
attenuation coefficient
unit is per cm.
 Linear Attenuation Coefficient

➢ Linear Attenuation Coefficient (LAC) provides a measure of the

fractional attenuation per unit length of material traversed.

µ is the linear attenuation

I = Io e - x coefficient.
Unit: cm-1
 Attenuation

90% 90% 90% 90%

100 90 81 73 66
 Half Value Layer (HVL)
• Absorber thickness that reduces beam
intensity by exactly 1/2
• Units of thickness
• value of x which makes N equal to No / 2

N = No e -x X1/2 = HVL = 0.693 / 

N/No= 0.5 = e -x

Higher HVL means

more penetrating beam
lower attenuation coefficient
 Half Value Layer

A half value layer of any material will permit only 50% or ½ of the incident
radiation to pass.

A second half value layer will permit ½ of the incident radiation (already
reduced by ½) to pass so that only ¼ of the initial radiation (½ x ½) is permitted
to pass.

If “n” half value layers are used, (½)n of the initial radiation is permitted to pass.
“n” may be any number.
 Half Value Layer - Example

The half value layer (HVL) of a material is 3 cm. A

technician has a piece of the material which is 12 cm
thick. What fraction of the initial radiation will pass
through the piece?
 X-Ray Beam Attenuation

 reduction in beam intensity by Lower Higher

Energy
 absorption (photoelectric) Energy
 deflection (scattering)
 Attenuation alters beam
 quantity
 quality
 higher fraction of low energy photons
removed
 Beam Hardening
Half Value Layer
 Poly-energetic Attenuation

 Curved line on semi-log graph

 line straightens with increasing attenuation
 slope approaches that of monochromatic
beam at peak energy
 Mean energy increases with attenuation
 beam hardening
 Factors Affecting Attenuation

• Energy of radiation / beam quality

• higher energy
• more penetration
• less attenuation
• Matter
• density
• atomic number
• electrons per gram
higher density, atomic number, or electrons per gram
increases attenuation
 Mass Attenuation Coefficient
➢ Mass attenuation coefficient
➢ Linear attenuation coefficient divided by density of the material.
𝝁
➢
𝝆

Independent of density of material.

Unit: g-1.cm2

➢ Mass Attenuation Coefficient (MAC) provides a measure of the

fractional attenuation per unit mass of material encountered.
Interactions of Charged
Particles
Interactions of Charged Particles
 Interactions of Charged Particles
• Charged particles (electrons, protons, alpha) interactions or collisions
are mediated by Coulomb force between the traveling particle and
that of orbital electrons or nucleus.
• Collision between the charged particle and the atomic electrons
result in ionization or excitation of the atom >> (collision loss).
• In the process of ionization, the ejected electron may have sufficient
energy to produce an ionization trac of its own. This ejected electron
is called secondary electron or delta ray.
• Interaction between the charged particle and atomic nucleus result in
bremsstrahlung >> (radiative loss).
 Stopping Power
The rate at which charged particle loses energy per unit path length in a medium is called
the stopping power.

𝒅𝑬 𝒅𝑬 𝒅𝑬
S(E) = = + Unit: MeV/cm
𝒅𝒙 𝒅𝒙 𝒄𝒐𝒍 𝒅𝒙 𝒓𝒂𝒅

𝒅𝑬
Mass stopping power: Unit: MeV/gm/cm2
ρ𝒅𝒙
 Linear Energy Transfer (LET)
The average energy locally imparted to the medium by a charged particle
𝒅𝑬
𝑳𝑬𝑻 =
𝒅𝒙 Local

➢ Stopping power is closely related to LET

➢ The difference between stopping power and LET is the fact that stopping power
describes the rate of energy loss including the production of long-range high kinetic-
energy electrons and bremsstrahlung radiation. In contrast, the important constraint
on the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU)
definition of LET is that it describes the rate of transfer of energy to the medium locally.
➢ This locality can be highly relevant for a biological system since living cells have
diameters of the order of microns.
Dependence on Particle and Medium
• Particle charge: Higher charge → higher stopping power (∝z2).
• Particle velocity: Stopping power decreases with higher velocity (i.e. increases with lower velocity)
• Medium properties: Higher atomic number, Z and density → greater stopping power.
 Bragg Peak
➢ Stopping power and LET are closely
related to dose deposition in a medium.
➢ The rate of energy loss (dose
deposition) by charged particles is
proportional to the square of the
particle charge and inversely
proportional to the square of its
velocity.
➢ In a medium, charged particles loses
energy gradually, gets slow down that
subsequently increases energy loss
(more interaction time). This results a
peak just before the proton stops.
➢ Peaks just before particle comes to rest Fig. Central axis depth dose distribution for a 250MeV proton beam
→ Bragg peak (basis of proton therapy
in cancer treatment).
 Spread-out Bragg Peak (SOBP)

➢ The Bragg peak of a

monoenergetic proton beam is
too narrow to cover an extended
volume (tumour).
➢ To provide wider depth coverage,
the Bragg peak can be spread out
by superposition of several beam
of different energies.
 Bragg Peak for Electron?
• Electron mass is relatively small.
• Electrons suffer greater scattering 90

compared to proton or heavy ions.

• Multiple scattering results changes in
the direction of motion.
• Multiple changes in direction during the
slowing down process smear out the
Bragg peak of electrons. dmax R90

Rp represents the depth at which the extrapolated Bragg peak (or the descending portion of
the depth-dose curve) intersects the bremsstrahlung background. R50 is the depth at which
the dose is 50% of the maximum dose.
 Clinical Implication

Electron Energy (MeV) Practical Range in Water/Tissue (cm)

6 MeV ~3 cm
9 MeV ~4.5 cm
12 MeV ~6 cm
15 MeV ~7.5 cm
20 MeV ~10 cm

The range of an electron beam in the human body (tissue) is approximately 0.5 cm per MeV of energy.

• Electron therapy is used for superficial tumors (skin cancers, chest wall,
head & neck, etc.).