Silicon diode detectors used in radiological physics measurements. Part I: Development of an energy compensating shield.

Silicon diode detectors have the advantages of high resolution, large signal, and fast response, but lack the flat energy response of the Farmer ion chamber. A study was undertaken to develop a compensating shield for a diode which would make it suitable for use in the spectrum of energies produced by a high-energy radiation beam at depth in a phantom. The energy response of the unshielded diode was quantitated over a range of energies from 18.5 keV to 8 MeV. Shields of different thickness, density, and design were tested experimentally. A partial shield of high-Z material over a diode with miniaturized contacts produced a probe which duplicated the relative dose measurements of the Farmer chamber with less than 1% variation. Typical central axis depth-dose curves and a beam profile, measured with the chamber and the shielded and unshielded probe, are illustrated.