Monte Carlo calculations of electrons impinging on a copper target: A comparison of EGSnrc, Geant4 and MCNP5

A simple geometry is used to compare several of the available Monte Carlo software codes for radiation transport. EGSnrc, Geant4 and MCNP5 are all used to calculate the photon fluence produced from electrons incident on a copper target. Four energies for the isotropic point source are chosen to simulate the average and maximum emission energies of 32P and 90Y: (0.7, 1.71) MeV and (0.93, 2.28) MeV, respectively. The energy deposition in the copper target, the electron current at the target and the computational efficiency are also calculated. EGSnrc is found to be the only self-consistent code when comparing results calculated using the default transport parameters of the condensed history mode with those calculated in the single scattering mode.