A two-dose-rate method for general recombination correction for liquid ionization chambers in pulsed beams.

The correction for general recombination losses in liquid ionization chambers (LICs) is more complex than that in air-filled ionization chambers. The reason for this is that the saturation charge in LICs, i.e. the charge that escapes initial recombination, depends on the applied voltage. This paper presents a method, based on measurements at two different dose rates in a pulsed beam, for general recombination correction in LICs. The Boag theory for pulsed beams is used and the collection efficiency is determined by numerical methods which are equivalent to the two-voltage method used in dosimetry with air-filled ionization chambers. The method has been tested in experiments in water in a 20 MeV electron beam using two LICs filled with isooctane and tetramethylsilane. The dose per pulse in the electron beam was varied between 0.1 mGy/pulse and 8 mGy/pulse. The relative standard deviations of the collection efficiencies determined with the two-dose-rate method ranged between 0.1% and 1.5%. The dose-rate variations of the general recombination corrected charge measured with the LICs are in excellent agreement with the corresponding values obtained with an air-filled plane parallel ionization chamber.