INTERACTION OF - Dr Ankita Singh

PHOTONS WITH JR, RT&RM

MATTER IMS-BHU
RADIATION

 The term radiation applies to the emission and propagation of energy

through space or a material medium.
Types
Electromagnetic
Particulate
 ELECTROMAGNETIC
RADIATION
A. Wave model
 B.
Quantum model
-Considered electromagnetic radiation as particle
-The amount of energy carried by such a packet of energy or Photon,
Eletromagnetic spectrum
 Radiation

Non ionizing
ionizing radiation
radiation

• Ultraviolet
Indirectly • Infrared
Directly ionising ionising
• Visible light
• Microwaves
• Radio waves
Particulate EM waves
• Electron
• Proton
• Neutron
• Alpha particle X rays Gamma
• Heavy charge rays
particle
INTERACTIONS OF PHOTONS
 A. Excitation
&
Deexcitation with subsequent release
of EM radiation

B. Ionisation
&
the production of Delta rays
 EXCITATION &
IONIZATION
Excitation is the transfer of some of the If the transferred energy exceeds the binding
incident particle's energy to electrons in the energy of the electron, ionization occurs,
absorbing material, whereby the electron is ejected from the atom .
promoting them to electron orbitals farther  The result of ionization is an ion pair
from the nucleus (i.e., higher energy levels). consisting of the ejected electron and the
positively charged atom.
 In excitation, the energy transferred to an
electron does not exceed its binding energy. Sometimes the ejected electrons possess
sufficient energy to produce further ionizations
 the electron will return to a lower energy
called secondary ionization.
level, with the emission of the excitation
energy in the form of electromagnetic  These electrons are called delta rays
radiation
 Photon Beam Attenuation
 When radiation passes through any material, a reduction in the intensity of
the beam occurs, This is known as attenuation.

 Attenuation occurs exponentially, i.e. a given fraction of the photons is

removed for a given thickness of the attenuating material.
  The reduction in the number of photons (dN) is proportional to the
number of incident photons (N) and to the thickness of the absorber
(dx).

• Where μ is called Proportionality constant

• This equation can be written in terms of intensity

 If thickness x is expressed as a length, then μ is called the “linear attenuation

 The greater the thickness of material , the greater the attenuation.

 For a given thickness, the greater the atomic number and/or the density of
the material, the greater the attenuation.

 The greater the photon energy , the smaller the attenuation produced by a
given thickness of a particular material.
Half-value-layer (HVL)-

 The thickness of the absorber material required to

decrease (attenuate) the intensity of a monoenergetic
photon-beam to half of its original value

This reflects the quality or the penetrating power of an x-

ray beam.
From the equation,
I (x) =I e  x
ATTENUATION CO-EFFICIENTS
 This coefficients depends on the energy of the photons and the nature of material.

• Since the attenuation produced by a thickness x depends on the number of electrons

present in that thickness, μ depends on the density of the material.

 Mass attenuation coefficient: Attenuation coefficient per unit density ρ is called mass
attenuation coefficient.
/ (cm2/g)

 Electronic attenuation coefficient: The absorber thickness can also be expressed in

units of electrons/cm2 .
(/) (1/NO) (cm2/electron)
where N0 is the number of electrons per gram
 Energy transfer coefficient :
The fraction of photon energy transferred into kinetic energy of charged particles
per unit thickness of absorber.

- where Etr is the average energy transferred into kinetic energy of charged
particles per interaction.
- The mass energy transfer coefficient is given by tr/ .

 The energy absorption coefficient en : The product of energy transfer

coefficient and (1 - g) where g is the fraction of the energy of secondary
charged particles that is lost to bremsstrahlung in the material.
en = tr (1 - g)

The mass energy absorption coefficient is given en / .

1. can penetrate the section of matter without
interacting.

2. It can interact with the matter and

be completely absorbed by depositing its
energy.

3. It can interact and be scattered or deflected

from its original direction and deposit part of
its energy.
SCATTERING
 Scattering refers to an interaction resulting in the deflection of a particle or photon
from its original trajectory,

Elastic scattering Inelastic Scattering

 The total kinetic energy  When scattering occurs with a

of the colliding loss of kinetic energy i.e., the total
particles is unchanged kinetic energy of the scattered
 Attenuation without particles is less than that of the
absorption particles before the interaction
Coherent scattering/classical/ Rayleigh scattering
EM waves passing near the electron

Setting it into oscillation

Irradiates the energy at the same frequency as the incident EM wave .

 Scattered X rays have the same wavelength as the incident beam.

 No energy is changed into electronic motion & no energy is absorbed into

medium

 This process involves bound electron, coherent scattering occurs more in high
atomic number materials and with low energy radiations.

 Important in X-ray crystallography: to know about the structure of materials.

 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
The process in which a photon is absorbed by an
atom, and as a result one of its orbital electrons is
ejected is called ‘Photoelectric effect’.

In this process, the entire energy (hν) of the photon

is first absorbed by the atom and then essentially all
of it is transferred to the atomic electron.

The kinetic energy of the ejected electron (called

the photoelectron) is equal to
hν - EB.
where EB is the binding energy of the electron
 The ionized atom regains electrical neutrality by rearrangement of the other orbital
electrons.
 The electrons that undergo the these rearrangements surrender some of the energy
in form of a photon known as the characteristic radiation of the atom.
 Absorption of the characteristic radiation internally in the atom may result in
emission of Auger electrons.

 These electrons are monoenergetic in nature

 Dominant interaction at energies of 10- 26 KeV

 The probability of the photoelectric effect occurring is strongly dependent on the

atomic number of the material traversed and on the energy of the incident photon
Probability ~ Z3/E3

 The mass photoelectric attenuation coefficient (τ/ρ) is directly proportional to the

cube of the atomic number and inversely proportional to the cube of the radiation
energy.
τ/ρ = k Z3/ E3
Absorption edges
The sudden increase in attenuation of the radiation occur at photon energies equal
to the binding energies of the different shells due to increased probability of PE
absorption.
 Graph of mass photoelectric attenuation
coefficients plotted against photon energy, & for
different materials.

• The graph for lead has discontinuities at

about 15 and 88keV.

• These are absorption edges, &

correspond to the binding energies of L & K
shells.

• A photon with energy less than 15 keV

does not have enough energy to eject an L
electron.

• Thus, below 15 keV, the interaction is

limited to the M or higher-shell electrons.
Clinical application-
In diagnostic imaging

PE absorption – white areas on the radiograph

Transmitted X rays - grey areas on radiograph

1. As it provides clear differentiation between tissues with different atomic number

(Eg - bone ,muscle, fat) amplifies differences in Xray absorption due to differences in Z.

2. Z dependence is also exploited when using contrast materials such as Barium for the
greater appreciation of structures that would otherwise not visible clearly.

3. Benefit of photoelectric absorption in x-ray transmission imaging is that there are no

nonprimary photons to degrade the image.( radiograph – too black)

Therapeutic radiology
The low energy beams produced by orthovoltage machines cause high absorption of Xray
energy in Bone as a result of Z3 dependence
The probability of photoelectric interaction is proportional to 1/E 3 explains, why image
contrast decreases when higher x-ray energies are used in the imaging process
KV imaging is better soft tissue visibility and contrast that MV imaging
 COMPTON SCATTERING
Also known as incoherent scattering, modified scattering
 Compton process involves transfer of a part of the energy of the
incoming photon to a “free electron”.
Predominant at 100 KeV - 1 MeV
 Electron receives some energy and ejected at an angle and photon
with reduced energy (increased wavelength) scattered at an angle
Since the Compton process involves these free electrons, the process is
independent of the atomic number of the medium in which the interaction
takes place.
 If the angle by which the electron is ejected is θ and the angle by which the photon is
scattered is Φ,
then theformula describes the change in the wavelength (δλ) of the photon
λ2 – λ1 = δλ = 0.024 ( 1- cos θ) Å
 The Compton process can be analysed in terms of collison between 2
particles , a Photon & an Electron

By applying Laws of conservation of Energy & Momentum,

hν0 , hν ', and E are the energies of the incident photon, Scattered photon, and electron,
respectively,
α = hν0 /m0 c2, where m0 c2 is the rest energy of the electron (0.511MeV).
DIRECT HIT
If a photon makes a direct hit with the electron, the electron will travel forward (θ = 0
degrees) and the scattered photon will travel backward (φ = 180 degrees) after the
collision.
• In such a collision, the electron will receive maximum energy Emax and the
scattered photon will be left with minimum energy hν I min.
• Emax and hν I min can be calculated by substituting
cos φ = cos 180o = -1
APPLICATION
Interaction with low Energy Interaction with High Energy
incident Photon Incident Photon

 Scattered photon carry away

 Compton scattered Photon only a small fraction of initial
have approx. the same energy energy
as the original photons, only  Compton effect causes a large
small part is imparted to the amount of energy absorption as
electron. compared to tat with low
energy photons.
 Energy transmitted to the secondary electrons increases with increase in energy of
incident photon

Average proportion of Photon energy transmitted to secondary electron during Compton process
GRAZING HIT
If a photon makes a grazing hit with the electron, the electron will be emitted at right
angles (θ = 90 degrees) and the scattered photon will go in the forward direction (φ
= 0 degrees).
By substituting cos φ = cos 0o = 1
Substituting these above values in the equations we get ,
Emax = 0
hν ' = hν0
90-DEGREE PHOTON SCATTER
If a photon is scattered at right angles to its original direction
(φ = 90 degrees)
• Emax and hν ' can be calculated from acquired equations by
substituting
cos φ = cos 900 = 0
• The angle of the electron emission in this case will depend on α.
 DEPENDENCE OF COMPTON
EFFECT ON E & Z
 Compton effect decreases with increase in Energy

 Independent of Atomic number

 Depends only on Electron density i. e number of electron

per gram
• Number of electron per gram decreases slowly but
systemically with atomic number
• Most materials except Hydrogen have approx. same
electron density
• c nearly same for all material.
 CLINICAL APPLICATION
 The probability of the Compton interaction depends on the density of electrons in a
material, which varies as Z/A.

This ratio is almost constant for elements except hydrogen

So the Compton effect can be considered to be independent of the atomic number of the
material the photons pass through and is dependent only on the electron density.

1. Medical imaging with megavoltage photons leads to poorer contrast than imaging with
kilovoltage photon beams.

2. A benefit for radiotherapy to tumors as a dependence on atomic number would lead to

higher absorbed dose being delivered to bone than soft tissue.
 As the incident photon energy increases, a higher proportion of its energy is transferred to
the electron.

have implications for radiotherapy and radiation dosimetry.

1. For kilovoltage photon beams, electrons set in motion through Compton interactions &
deposit their energy very close to the site of interaction,

2. For megavoltage photons, these interactions produce high energy secondary electrons
which will travel a significant distance.

observed skin-sparing effect of absorbed dose deposition in tissue by megavoltage photon

beams, as electrons set in motion near the skin surface deposit their energy over a significant
depth.
PAIR PRODUCTION
 The threshold energy for the pair production process is 1.02 MeV.

 The photon energy in excess of this threshold is shared between the particles as kinetic
energy.

 The total kinetic energy available for the electron-positron pair is given by
(hν = 1.02) MeV.

 The particles tend to be emitted in the forward direction relative to the incident photon.

 The pair production process is an example of an event in which energy is converted into
mass, as predicted by Einstein's equation
E = mc2

 The reverse process, namely the conversion of mass into energy, takes place when a
positron combines with an electron to produce two photons, called the annihilation
radiation.
VARIATION OF PAIR
PRODUCTION WITH E & Z
 Pair production results from interaction with electromagnetic
field of nucleus,
 probability increases rapidly with atomic number
Pair atomic attenuation coefficient
aП α Z2
Pair electronic attenuation coefficient
П α Z
Pair mass attenuation coefficient
П α Z
 The likelihood of pair production increases as the logarithm of the incident photon
energy , above the threshold energy.

 For energies upto 20 MeV , curves are coincident for all materials indicating ,
aП α Z2
 For Higher energies , the curve for high Z materials fall below the low Z materials because of
screening of nuclear charge by orbital electron
 In water (and soft tissue), pair-production only becomes significant at photon
energies above approximately 10 MeV so accounts for very little of the absorbed
dose to a patient undergoing radiotherapy.

Mass attenuation coefficients, showing the relative

contributions from the photoelectric effect, Compton effect and
pair- production in
water (effective Z = 7)
 ANNIHILATION RADIATION

 Two photons of energy 0.51 MeV are produced

when positron generated in Pair Production
combines with electron after many interactions

These photons are called as “Annihilation

photons”.
 Due to momentum conservation of energy the
direction of propagation these photons becomes
opposite
 PHOTODISINTEGRATION

 This reaction occurs when the photon has energy greater than
the binding energy of the nucleus itself.

 In this case, it enters the nucleus and ejects a particle from it.

 The photon disappears altogether, and any energy possesses

in excess of that needed to remove the particle becomes the
kinetic energy of escape of that particle.

 In most cases, this process results in the emission of neutrons

by the nuclei.
  An example of such a reaction is provided by the nucleus of 63Cu
bombarded with a photon beam:

The above reaction has a definite threshold, 10.86 MeV

 Because of the production of neutrons , it is important to consider for neutron

shielding in RT bunker where Energy of Photon is above 10 MeV
 Relative importance of Various types of
Interactions
The Total mass attenuation coefficient () is the sum of four individual coefficients for
these processes:

Where.,
• -Total mass attenuation co-efficient
• coh  -Coherent scattering
•   -Photoelectric effect
• c-Compton effect
• -Pair production
 The mass attenuation coefficient is large for low energies and high-atomic number
media because of the predominance of photoelectric interactions under these conditions.

 The attenuation coefficient decreases rapidly with energy until the photon energy far
exceeds the electron-binding energies and the Compton effect becomes the predominant
mode of interaction.

 In the Compton range of energies, the  of lead and water do not differ greatly, since
this type of interaction is independent of atomic number.

 The coefficient, however, decreases with energy until pair production begins to become
important.

 The dominance of pair production occurs at energies much greater than the threshold
energy of 1.02 MeV.