Simulation, Design and Construction of a Gas Electron Multiplier for Particle Tracking
By
Andrej Sipaj
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Applied Science
In
Nuclear Engineering
Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Program
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
December, 2012
©Andrej Sipaj, 2012
Abstract
The biological effects of charged particles is of interest in particle therapy, radiation protection and space radiation science and known to be dependent on both absorbed dose and radiation quality or LET. Microdosimetry is a technique which uses a tissue equivalent gas to simulate microscopic tissue sites of the order of cellular
dimensions and the principles of gas ionization devices to measure deposited energy.
The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) has been used since 1997 for tracking particles and for the determination of particle energy. In general, the GEM detector works in either tracking or energy deposition mode. The instrument proposed here is a combination of
both, for the purpose of determining the energy deposition in simulated microscopic
sites over the charged particle range and in particular at the end of the range where
local energy deposition increases in the so‐called Bragg‐peak region. The detector is
designed to track particles of various energies for 5 cm in one dimension, while
providing the particle energy deposition every 0.5 cm of its track. The reconfiguration of
the detector for different particle energies is very simple and achieved by adjusting the
pressure of the gas inside the detector and resistor chain. In this manner, the detector
can be used to study various ion beams and their dose distributions to tissues. Initial work is being carried out using an isotopic source of alpha particles and this thesis will
describe the construction of the GEM‐based detector, computer modelling of the
expected gas‐gain and performance of the device as well as comparisons with
experimentally measured data of segmented energy deposition.
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Table of Contents
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………2 Acknowledgment……………………………………………………………………………………………………………5 List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6 List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9 Nomenclature………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 Acronyms...... 11 1 Chapter ...... 12 1.1 Introduction ...... 12 1.2 Gas Electron Multiplier ...... 14 1.3 Thesis Objective ...... 17 1.4 Past Trials of GEM Detectors for Tracking and Energy Measurements ...... 18 1.5 Outline of Thesis ...... 20 2 Chapter: Background and Theory ...... 22 2.1 Background and Theory of Charged Particle Energy Loss in Gases ...... 22 2.1.1 Ionization by Alpha Particles ...... 22 2.1.2 Stopping Power ...... 23 2.1.3 Electron Multiplication in Gases ...... 24 2.1.4 Penning Transfer ...... 26 2.1.5 Drift Velocity of Electrons ...... 27 2.1.6 Diffusion of Electrons ...... 28 2.1.7 Electron Attachment ...... 28 2.2 Background to Computer Simulation Software ...... 29 2.2.1 Garfield++ ...... 29 2.2.2 Gmsh and Elmer ...... 31 2.2.3 Maxwell ...... 32 3 Chapter: Physical Design and Settings of the Detector ...... 33 3.1 Sensitive Volume ...... 34 3.2 Entrance Window with a Collimator ...... 36 3.3 Main board with Pre‐amplifier ...... 37 3.4 Voltage and Current Divider ...... 38
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3.5 Collection Plate Switch ...... 40 3.6 Selection of Gas and Pressure ...... 41 4 Chapter: Computer Simulation ...... 45 4.1 General Principles and Settings of Simulation ...... 45 4.1.1 Geometry and Boundary Conditions ...... 45 4.1.2 Gas Settings ...... 46 4.1.3 Initial Particle Setting ...... 46 4.2 Drift Field Simulation ...... 46 4.3 GEM Field Simulation ...... 51 4.4 Induction Field Simulation ...... 52 4.5 Summary of Computer Simulation ...... 61 5 Results of Detector Prototype Tests ...... 63 5.1 Prototype Overview ...... 63 5.2 Energy Tracking of an Alpha Particle ...... 66 Stability of the Detector Pulse Height ...... 68 6 Chapter: Conclusion and Future Developments ...... 70 6.1 Future Developments and Recommendations ...... 73 7 Appendix A: Example of Garfield++ Code ...... 76 8 Appendix B: Input File with Ion Mobilities...... 82 9 Appendix C: MCNPX Code For Obtaining Stopping Power Curve ...... 83 10 Appendix D: Garfield ++ Installation ...... 85 11 Appendix E: Schemas of Custom Made Parts ...... 87 12 References ...... 90
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Acknowledgment
First, I would like to thank Dr. Anthony Waker for his constant support and encouragement in my research and the writing of this thesis. I sincerely appreciate his
guidance and support during the period of this work and most of all, his patience and understanding.
I would like to thank to Dr. Heinrich Schindler for his help, patience and time
with the Garfield++ simulation problems that I faced and to Fawaz Ali for his MCNPX
model contribution.
I would also like to thank all my professors, colleagues and friends who gave me
generous support throughout my time at UOIT.
I am grateful to the University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering
(UNENE) and the Natural Science and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) for their
financial contributions to this project.
Lastly, I am thankful to my family, especially my parents, Frantisek and Helena
Sipaj, and my sister, Katarina Sipaj for helping me through the difficult times and for
being a source of inspiration during the course of my research and throughout my
university education.
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List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Drawing of typical GEM foil with dimension is micrometers ...... 15
Figure 1.2: Simulated field settings of a GEM ...... 17
Figure 1.3: Resulting image of a single alpha particle by GEM scintillation using gas
Ar/CF4 (95/5) ...... 19
Figure 1.4: Energy resolution of single GEM with single PCB readout board, FWHM ~18%
at 5.9 keV ...... 20
Figure 2.1: Example of Bragg curve ...... 24
Figure 2.2: Basic building block of a GEM detector ...... 30
Figure 3.1: General schema of GEM detector for the measurement of charged particle energy deposition track stucture ...... 34
Figure 3.2: Image of segmented collection plate ...... 36
Figure 3.3: Schematic of collimation and collimator with dimensions ...... 37
Figure 3.4: Schematic of a pre‐amplifier board ...... 38
Figure 3.5: Schema of voltage divider with voltage equations ...... 39
Figure 3.6: Schematic of a current divider resistor ...... 40
Figure 3.7: Image of connected collection plate switch ...... 41
Figure 3.8: GEM gains based on different voltage potentials cross GEM at various
pressures ...... 42
Figure 3.9: SRIM simulation of Am‐241 alpha particle range for detector design ...... 43
Figure 4.1: Experimental ion chamber readings at different voltage potentials ...... 47
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Figure 4.2: Electron cross sections of carbon dioxide gas ...... 48
Figure 4.3: Garfield simulation of electron attachment between two parallel plates of an ion chamber at different electric strengths ...... 49
Figure 4.4: Electric field vectors representing different curvature of field lines in drift region...... 50
Figure 4.5: Garfield electron transparency simulation ...... 50
Figure 4.6: Garfield electron gain simulation across GEM at 250 Torr and Ar/CO2 (80/20) gas ...... 51
Figure 4.7: Electric field simulation of the GEM detector with electric field vectors ...... 52
Figure 4.8: Electric field vectors representing different curvature of field lines...... 53
Figure 4.9: Garfield simulation of GEM foil transparency based on the induction field strength ...... 54
Figure 4.10: Garfield simulation of electrons contribution from GEM (350 V) and induction region to the overall avalanche ...... 55
Figure 4.11: Garfield simulation of electron collection with GEM potential set to 350 V 56
Figure 4.12: Garfield simulation of electron collection with GEM potential set to 400 V 56
Figure 4.13: Garfield simulation of distribution of collected electrons...... 58
Figure 4.14: Garfield simulation of collection plate charge distribution based on number of electrons and negative ion ...... 59
Figure 4.15: Garfield simulation of collection time for negative Ions with distribution for
GEM potential 350 and 400 V ...... 60
5.1: Example of pulse from the GEM detector ...... 64
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Figure 5.2: Image of the internal parts of the physical detector ...... 65
Figure 5.3: Image of general setup of an experiment ...... 66
Figure 5.4: Measured and simulated stopping power of an alpha particle ...... 67
Figure 5.5: Example of peak obtained during the stability measurements ...... 69
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List of Tables
Table 3‐1: Density of Ar and CO2 gas ...... 44
Table 5‐1: Settings of the prototype detector ...... 63
Table 5‐2: Detector stability statistics ...... 69
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Nomenclature