INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH

MATTER
 Interactions of ionizing radiation

▪ What is interaction ?
➢ A mechanism by which a particle looses its energy and
change the direction of motion in a given matter.
▪ Interaction between photons and matter
➢ As photons interacts with matter,
✓ It can penetrate through a section of
matter without interacting
✓ It can be completely absorbed by
depositing its energy
✓ It can be scattered from its original
direction & deposit part of its energy
 Interactions of ionizing radiation

▪ Interactions ..
➢ When photons interacts with matter,
1. Energy is transferred to the medium.
2. Involves the ejection of electrons from the atoms
3. Transfer their energy by producing ionization and
excitation
 Interactions of ionizing radiation

▪ What are the types of ionizing radiation?

 Interactions of ionizing radiation

▪ Interaction between photons and matter

➢ Photons that traverse a material without interaction are
referred to as primary photons or primary radiation.
➢ Photons that are scattered are called as secondary
radiation.
➢ Photons that are absorbed or scattered are said to have
undergone attenuation.
 Interactions of ionizing radiation

▪ Attenuation
➢ Attenuation refers to both absorption and scattering.
➢ When photons pass through an absorber, removal of
photons from the path of the beam either by scattering or
absorption is called as attenuation.
▪ Absorption
➢ If the energy of photon is completely transferred to the
medium during interaction, then it is called as absorption.
▪ Scattering
➢ If part of the photon energy is transferred to the medium
and is deflected out, then it is called as scattering.
➢ Scattered radiation may have lesser energy than incident
photons.
 Description of photon beam

▪ Fluence ()
➢ Number of photons (or particles) passing through an unit
cross-sectional area.
➢ Unit: cm-2

▪ Fluence rate (or) Flux ()

➢ Number of photons or particles pass through a unit area per
unit time.
➢ Unit: cm-2 sec-1)
 Description of photon beam

▪ Energy fluence ()

➢ Sum of the energies of all photons that enter a sphere of
cross-sectional area.
➢ Units of : (Jm-2 or keVcm-2)

▪ Energy fluence rate (or) energy flux density ()

➢ Energy fluence per unit time
➢ Unit: J.m-2 sec-1
 Description of photon beam

▪ Linear attenuation coefficient ()

➢ Fraction of photons (dN/N) attenuated per unit path length.
➢ Reduction in intensity of the beam per unit path length.
➢ Defined for uncharged particles
➢ It depends on the energy of the photons and the density ()
of the absorber
✓ Unit: cm-1
 Types of photon interaction

▪ Photon interactions with matter

➢ Attenuation of a photon beam by an absorbing material is
caused by five major types of interactions.
✓ Coherent scattering
✓ Photoelectric effect
✓ Compton effect
✓ Pair production
✓ Photodisintegration
 Types of photon interaction

▪ Photon interactions with matter ..

➢ Interaction of photon with orbital electron
✓ With tightly bound electron (Photoelectric effect).
✓ With loosely bound electron (Compton effect, Triplet
production)

➢ Interaction of photon with nuclei

✓ With the electrostatic field of nucleus (Pair production).
✓ Direct photon-nucleus interactions (Photodisintegration)

Ref: Radiation Oncology Physics: A Handbook for Teachers and Students

 Types of photon interaction

▪ Tightly bound & loosely bound electron

➢ A tightly bound electron is an electron whose binding energy
is comparable to, or slightly smaller than the photon energy
EB  h
➢ It is also considered an interaction between a photon and the
atom as a whole.

➢ A loosely bound electron is an electron whose binding energy

is very small when compared to the photon energy
EB << h
➢ It is also considered to be an interaction between a photon
and a free (unbound) electron.
Ref: Radiation Oncology Physics: A Handbook for Teachers and Students
 Types of photon interaction

▪ Fate of photon
➢ Photon disappears
✓ Photon is absorbed completely
✓ Portion of its energy is transferred to light charged
particles (electrons and positrons)
➢ Photon is scattered
✓ Resulting photon has the same energy & no light charged
particles are released or
✓ Resulting scattered photon has a lower energy and the
excess energy is transferred to a light charged particle
(electron)

Ref: Radiation Oncology Physics: A Handbook for Teachers and Students

 Types of photon interaction

▪ Coherent scattering
➢ It is also known as classical scattering or
Rayleigh scattering
➢ Low energy photon interacts with an
electron and set them into vibration at
the frequency of incident photon
➢ Photon loses none of its energy and is scattered though a
small angle
➢ Photon undergoes a change in direction without change in
wavelength
➢ No energy is transferred to the charged particles
 Types of photon interaction

▪ Coherent scattering ..
➢ Coherent scattering cross-section is:
✓ Directly proportional to the atomic number (Z) and
✓ Indirectly proportional to the square of the energy of
the photon (h)2
➢ It contributes < 5 % in
diagnostic radiology
 Types of photon interaction

▪ Photoelectric effect
➢ Photon interacts with a tightly bound electron and
disappears (completely absorbed).
✓ Transfers all its energy to the bound electron

➢ The orbital electron is ejected

from the atom with K.E,
EK = h - EB
✓ EB is the binding energy of
the bound electron
➢ The ejected electron is called as
photoelectron.
 Types of photon interaction

▪ Photoelectric effect ..
➢ After electron is ejected from the atom, a vacancy is created
in the shell, leaving the atom in an excited state.
➢ The vacancy is filled by an outer orbital electron with the
emission of characteristic x-rays
➢ There is also a possibility of
emission of Auger electrons
 Types of photon interaction

▪ Photoelectric effect ..
➢ The probability of ejection is maximum, if the photon has just
enough energy to knock the electron from its shell.
➢ Most photoelectric interactions occur at K-shell because
tightly bound electrons are mostly available in K-shell.
➢ The photoelectric cross section varies with :
✓ Energy as 1/ E3
✓ Atomic number as Z3
 Interaction of photons with matter

▪ Compton effect
➢ Interaction between a photon and a free electron.
➢ The incident photon gets scattered.
➢ The free electron is ejected from the orbit.
 Interaction of photons with matter

▪ Compton effect
➢ The energy of scattered photon is always lesser than the
incident photon.
➢ The energy of incident photon is equal to the sum of the
K.E of scattered photon and the K.E. of ejected electron.
➢ It is almost independent of atomic number Z.
➢ It is inversely proportional to energy E.
➢ It is proportional to density of the material.
➢ Important in the energy range of 60 KeV to 5 MeV.
 Interaction of photons with matter

▪ Pair production
➢ Interaction between a photon and the electromagnetic
field of a nucleus.
➢ Photon gives all its energy and disappears, creating a
pair of positron and an electron.
 Interaction of photons with matter

▪ Pair production
➢ The threshold energy is 1.02 MeV.
➢ Pair production is fully and absorption process.
➢ It is an example for the conversion of energy into mass.
 Interaction of photons with matter

▪ Pair production
➢ The energy is shared equally by electron and position in
this process.
➢ Pair Production process increases with energy above the
threshold value.
➢ Pair Production process increases with atomic number
as Z2.
➢ Positron produced travels in the medium and loses its
energy by ionization, excitation and bremsstrahlung
process.
 Interaction of photons with matter

▪ Pair production
➢ Slow moving positron combines with any one of the free
electron
➢ Produces two annihilation photons of energy 0.511 MeV
each
➢ They are ejected in opposite directions.
➢ This process is called as positron annihilation.
➢ In this process, mass is converted to energy
➢ To conserve momentum, two photons are ejected in
opposite direction.
 Interaction of photons with matter

▪ Pair production
➢ A high energy photon interacts with the electric field of
an atomic electron, three particles appear.
➢ A electron and positron are created along with the
original electron in the interaction
➢ This process is called as triplet production
➢ Threshold energy is twice the pair production (2.04 MeV)
 summary
• Photoelectric Effect

1. It is an interaction between a photon and a bound electron of an atom.

2. The bound electron is ejected from the atom and the ejected electron is known as photo
electron
3. The incident photon transfers all its energy to the bound electron.
4. The energy of the ejected electron is EK = hυ – EB, where hυ is the energy of incident
photon and EB is the binding energy of bound electron.
5. The probability of ejection is maximum, if the photon has just enough energy to knock
the electron from its shell.
6. The atom left in an excited state comes to ground state by emitting characteristic
radiation and Auger electrons.
7. Tightly bound electrons are mostly available in K-shell and hence most photoelectric
interactions occur at K-shell.
8. The photoelectric cross section varies with energy as 1/ E3.
9. The photoelectric cross section varies with atomic number as Z3.
 summary
• Compton Effect
•
1. It is an interaction between a photon and a free electron.
2. The incident photon gets scattered.
3. The electron receives some energy from the photon and is ejected.
4. The energy of scattered photon is less than the incident photon.
5. The energy of incident photon is equal to the sum of the kinetic energy of scattered
photon and the kinetic energy of ejected electron.
6. Compton Effect is almost independent of atomic number Z.
7. Compton Effect is inversely proportional to energy E.
8. Compton Effect is proportional to density of the material.
9. Compton Effect is important in the energy range of 60 KeV to 5 MeV.
• In soft tissue, Compton Effect is the most important interaction of x and  photon
 summary
• Pair Production
•
1. It is an interaction between a photon and the electromagnetic field of a nucleus.
2. A photon with energy greater than 1.02 MeV interacts with the electromagnetic
field of a nucleus.
3. Photon gives all its energy and disappears in this process and creating a pair of
positron and an electron.
4. The threshold energy for the pair production process is 1.02 MeV.
5. Pair Production process is an example for the conversion of energy into mass.
6. Pair Production process increases with energy above the threshold value.
7. Pair Production process increases with atomic number as Z2.
8. The positron produced travels in the medium and loses its energy by ionization,
excitation and bremsstrahlung process.
9. Finally, the positron combines with a free electron and produces two annihilation
photons of energy 0.511 MeV each and is ejected in opposite directions.
• The above process ( 8,9 ) is called as positron annihilation
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Clinical relevance
➢ Probability of interaction depends on photon energy and the
atomic number Z of the attenuating material.
✓ Photoelectric effect predominates at low photon energies
✓ Compton effect predominates at intermediate energies
✓ Pair production predominates at high photon energies
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Photoelectric effect
➢ No scattered radiation in P.E
➢ P.E α Z3 means, P.E. enhances subject contrast (differences in
attenuation between tissues)
➢ Higher doses to patient when it occurs in tissue
➢ Total absorption of photon, no energy escapes
➢ Iodine and barium image contrast are highest when kVp is
set match the k-edge
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Photoelectric effect
➢ The graph for lead has discontinuities at
about 15 and 88 keV.
➢ These are called absorption edges,
correspond to the B.E of L and K shells.
➢ Below 15 keV, the interaction is limited
to M shell or higher shell.
➢ The difference in Z of various tissues
such as bone, muscle and fat amplifies
in x-ray
➢ Iodine and barium are the commonly
used contrast agents
➢ B.E = 33 and 36 keV respectively
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Photoelectric effect

▪ At energies above highest electron BE, the

cross section is relatively small but increases
rapidly at K-shell energy.
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Photoelectric effect
➢ The likelihood of photoelectric interaction of low-energy
photons is almost four times greater in bone than in an
equal mass of soft tissue
➢ Zeff of bone is 11.6
➢ Zeff of tissue 7.4
➢ (11.6/7. 4)3 = 3.8
➢ The differences in differential absorption are also important
for the design of filters and targets in X-ray unit
➢ Tungsten target
➢ Molybdenum target
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Photoelectric effect
➢ For radiation shielding, a fraction of a 1 mm thick Pb lining is
enough for shielding diagnostic X-ray room doors
➢ K and L shell B.E in Pb are much higher
➢ Large fraction of the photons are attenuated
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Compton Scattering
➢ Compton effect decreases with increasing photon energy
and independent of atomic number.
➢ As the photon energy increases beyond the BE of k electron,
➢ P.E decreases rapidly with energy
➢ C.E becomes more and more important.
➢ Between 30 keV and 30 MeV, photon interactions in soft
tissue are predominantly by Compton effect
➢ It is the most important interaction in radiotherapy
➢ It is Z independent and so does not cause preferential bone
absorption in the patients being treated.
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Compton Scattering

➢ Though independent of Z, 1 cm of bone will attenuate more

than 1 cm of soft tissue
➢ Bone has a higher electron density.
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Compton Scattering
➢ The scattered photons and scattered electrons affect the
skin sparing advantage of megavoltage therapy
➢ They are likely to cause skin reactions if proper procedures
are not followed to reduce the scatter reaching the patient.
➢ Beam contamination also spoils the contrast of the portal
images.
➢ Scatter can reduce the image contrast unless efforts are
taken to reduce the scatter reaching the cassette
➢ Compton effect also decreases with increasing photon
energy Independent of atomic number.
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Compton Scattering
➢ The scattered photons and scattered electrons affect the
skin sparing advantage of megavoltage therapy
➢ They are likely to cause skin reactions if proper procedures
are not followed to reduce the scatter reaching the patient.
➢ Beam contamination also spoils the contrast of the portal
images.
➢ Scatter can reduce the image contrast unless efforts are
taken to reduce the scatter reaching the cassette
➢ Dose spreads laterally beyond the primary beam in a patient,
due to the increasing ranges of the Compton electrons.
➢ This is an unwanted dose that the patient receives while
undergoing radiotherapy treatments.
 Photon Interaction – clinical relevance

▪ Pair Production
➢ Positron annihilates after slowing down in the absorbing
medium.
➢ Both the e─ and e+ travel a few mm before losing all the
kinetic energy.
➢ At this point the e+ combines with an e─ and two
annihilation photons (0.511 MeV each) are produced
➢ Principle behind PET imaging
➢ P.P does not occur in x-ray imaging
Photon Interaction – clinical relevance
PHOTODISINTEGRATION
• Photodisintegration (also called phototransmutation, or a
photonuclear reaction) is a nuclear process in which an
atomic nucleus absorbs a high-energy gamma ray, enters an
excited state, and immediately decays by emitting a
subatomic particle.
• The incoming gamma ray effectively knocks one or more
neutrons, protons, or an alpha particle out of the nucleus.
• The reactions are called (γ,n), (γ,p), and (γ,α).
• Photodisintegration is endothermic (energy absorbing) for
atomic nuclei lighter than iron and sometimes exothermic
(energy releasing) for atomic nuclei heavier than iron
• Photodisintegration is responsible for the nucleosynthesis of
at least some heavy, proton-rich elements via the p-process in
supernovae
• This causes the iron to further fuse into the heavier elements
Thank you