Dosimetric calibration of solid state detectors with low energy β sources

A PTW Optidos plastic scintillation and a PTW natural diamond detectors were calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to water with β fields produced by 90Sr + 90Y and 85Kr reference sources. Each source was characterized at the Italian National Metrological Institute – the Istituto Nazionale di Metrologia delle Radiazioni Ionizzanti of ENEA (ENEA-INMRI) – for two different series, 1 and 2, of ISO reference β-particle radiation fields. Beam flattening filters were used for the series 1 β fields to give uniform absorbed dose rates over a large area at a source-to-reference plane distance of 30 cm. The series 2 β fields were produced at source-to-reference plane distance of 10 cm, without the beam flattening filters, in order to obtain higher absorbed dose rates.The reference absorbed dose rate values were directly determined by the Italian national standard for β-particle dosimetry (a PTW extrapolation ionization chamber) for the series 1 β fields and by a calibrated transfer standard chamber, (a Capintec thin fixed-volume parallel plate ionization chamber) for the series 2 β fields. Finally the two solid state detectors were calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to water with the series 2 β field.The expanded uncertainties of the calibration coefficients obtained for the plastic scintillation dosimeter were 10% and 12% (2SD) for the 90Sr + 90Y and the 85Kr sources, respectively. The expanded uncertainties obtained for the diamond dosimeter were 10% (2SD) and 16% (2SD) for the 90Sr + 90Y and the 85Kr sources, respectively.The good results obtained with the 90Sr + 90Y and the 85Kr β sources encourage to implement this procedure to calibrate this type of detectors at shorter distances and with other β sources of interest in brachytherapy, for example the 106Ru source.