Radiation tests for a single-GEM-loaded gaseous detector

We report on a systematic study of a single-gas-electron-multiplier (GEM)-loaded gaseous detector developed for precision measurements of high-energy particle beams and for dose verification in particle therapy. In the present study, a 256-channel prototype detector having an active area of 16 × 16 cm² and operating using a continuous current-integration-mode signal-processing method was manufactured and tested with X-rays emitted from a 70-kV X-ray generator and 43-MeV protons provided by the MC50 proton cyclotron at the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Science (KIRAMS). The amplified detector response was measured for X-rays with an intensity of about 5 × 10⁶ Hz cm⁻². The linearity of the detector response to the particle flux was examined and validated by using 43-MeV proton beams. The non-uniform development of the amplification for the gas electrons in space was corrected by applying a proper calibration to the channel responses of the measured beam-profile data. We conclude from the radiation tests that the detector developed in the present study will allow us to perform quality measurements of various high-energy particle beams and to apply the technology to dose-verification measurements in particle therapy.