The Radiophysics Laboratory is an Irradiation Facility dedicated to R&D&I and Technology Transfer activities and services related to the detection and applications of ionising radiation.
This technological platform has a 60 m2 bunker that houses a gamma irradiator (Cobalt 60) and a linear accelerator.
The laboratory offers the following services to any user in the public or private sectors:
- Service for the calibration of ionisation chamber sets - electrometer in absorbed dose rate in water at therapy level (Cobalt 60). The Radiophysics Laboratory is an accredited secondary laboratory that complies with ISO 17025.
- Calibration service of ionisation chamber assemblies - electrometer in air kerma rate in air (cobalt 60). The Radiophysics Laboratory is an accredited secondary laboratory that complies with ISO 17025.
- Irradiation service. The Laboratory performs total dose irradiation tests on electronic components, materials or tissues.
- Veterinary Radiotherapy Service. This service is carried out jointly with the Rof Codina Foundation Veterinary Hospital.
The USC Radiophysics Laboratory is a secondary dosimetry laboratory. The laboratory has implemented the UNE-EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard on general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories.
The laboratory offers the following calibration services with ENAC accreditation:
- Calibration of ionisation chamber sets - electrometer in the scale for absorbed dose rate in water at external therapy levels (cobalt 60).
- Calibration of ionisation chamber sets - electrometer on the scale for kerma air in air rate (cobalt 60).
Rates
Calibrations are charged per calibrated instrument. The rate includes the issue of a calibration certificate.
To request a calibration quote please fill in the request form or contact us.
The USC Radiophysics Laboratory offers the irradiation service for samples with cobalt-60 gamma photons, electrons and high-energy X-rays at different dose rates. An example of this service is the performance of total dose irradiation tests at high or low dose rates for electronic components for the aerospace industry.
The tests are carried out in the laboratory's irradiation room, which measures 10x6 m.
Space for user equipment is provided in the control room. There are conduits for passing cables from the control room to the irradiation room.
The radiation beams can be collimated in a square or rectangular shape. These are divergent beams and therefore the irradiation area and dose rate depend on the distance to the source for a given collimation setting.
Irradiation area
The irradiation area is square or rectangular in shape with FSx and Fsy sides. The side of the maximum irradiation area FSmax depends on the distance to the source d and varies between 10 and 240 cm.
The irradiation area at a given distance from the source has a better hom*ogeneity in absorbed dose at 5 %.
Dose rate
The gamma dose rate is adjusted by varying the distance between the radioactive source and the samples or components to be irradiated. The absorbed dose rate in a sample varies according to the Inverse-square law of the distance from the source.
The dose rate of radiation generated by the LINAC can be adjusted electronically and by varying the distance between the LIANC head and the samples or components to be irradiated.
The absorbed dose rate in the sample to be irradiated is monitored in real time by an air ionisation chamber connected to a reference electrometer. The response of the ionisation chamber is converted in real time into dose rate in the sample material or component.
Typical dose rates in silicon in the laboratory range from 36 rad (Si)/h to 20 krad(Si)/h (0.1 mGy(Si)/s to 55 mGy(Si)/s) for gamma irradiations and from 36 rad (Si)/h to 170 krad(Si)/h (0.1 mGy(Si)/s to 470 mGy(Si)/s) for LINAC irradiations. While the gamma irradiation is continuous, the LINAC pulse repetition rate can be electronically adjusted between 60 and 360 Hz.
Rates
Total ionisation dose tests are charged per day of use of the facility or fraction thereof. Technical assistance is also available on request.
To request a detailed quote for a total ionisation dose test, please contact us.
The Radiophysics Laboratory (RPL) established a radiotherapy service for medium and small animals in collaboration with the Rof Codina University Veterinary Hospital (HVURC).
The diagnosis and prescription of treatment is carried out by the HVURC's diagnostic imaging service. Treatment calculation and dosimetric verification is performed by RPL staff.
Treatments are administered at the RPL facilities jointly by RPL and HVURC staff.
Rates
To request a quote for veterinary radiotherapy treatment, please contact the team of Veterinary Oncologists at the Rof Codina Foundation Veterinary Hospital.
Some of the research activities carried out at the facility include:
- Development of radiation detectors for therapy bundle dosimetry.
- Assessment of commercial detectors for therapy bundle dosimetry.
- Development of measurement and calculation techniques to improve the precision of dosimetry in radiotherapy.
- Development of neutron detectors for radiation protection levels.
- Development of radiation-resistant components for use in artificial satellites.
The Radiophysics Laboratory currently has the following collaboration agreements with research centres:
- Collaboration agreement with the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) (Madrid, Spain).
- Collaboration agreement with the Rof Codina University Hospital Foundation (Lugo, Spain).
- Research Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (Vienna, Austria)
Research Projects
- Skyflash: Development of radiation-resistant methodologies by design for the production of non-volatile flash memories.
- DOSEtrace: EMPIR Research project
- UHDpulse: EMPIR Research project
- Development of a calorimeter: FIS Research project
Latest publications:
- Prieto-Pena J, Gómez F, González-Castaño D M, Flores-Arias M T, Arines J, Bao-Varela C, Cambronero-López F and Martínez Maqueira A. Radiation characterisation and dosimetric measurements of a femtosecond pulsed laser ablation system. Journal of Radiological Protection 38 (2018)
- Brualla-González L, Vázquez-Luque A, Zapata M, González-Castaño DM, Luna-Vega V, Guiu-Souto J, Prieto-Pena J, García T, Granero D, Vicedo A, Rosellò J, Pombar M, Gómez F, Pardo-Montero J. Development and clinical characterization of a novel 2041 liquid-filled ionization chambers array for high-resolution verification of radiotherapy treatments. Medical Physics 45 (4) (2018).
- Andreou Charalambos M, Javanainen A, Rominski A, Virtanen A, Liberali V, Calligaro C, Prokofiev A V, Gerardin S, Bagatin M, Paccagnella A, González-Castaño D M, Gómez F, Nahmad D and Georgiou J: Single Event Transients and Pulse Quenching Effects in Bandgap Reference Topologies for Space Applications, IEEE TNS 63(6) (2016)
- Andreou Charalambos M, González-Castaño D M, Rominski A, Gerardin S, Bagatin M, Gómez F, Paccagnella A, Prokofiev A V, Javanainen A, Virtanen A, Liberali V, Calligaro C, Nahmad D and Georgiou J: Total Ionisation Dose Performance Classification of BGR Topologies for Space, using gamma ray, X-ray and Proton Irradiation, IEEE TNS (2015)
- Domínguez-Pumar M, Gorreta S, Pons-Nin J, Gómez-Rodríguez F and González-Castaño D M: Charge induced by ionizing radiation understood as a disturbance in a sliding mode control of dielectric charge, Microelect. Reliab., 55 (2015)
- Domínguez-Pumar M, Gorreta S, Pons-Nin J, Gómez-Rodríguez F, González-Castaño D M, and Muschitiello M: Closed-Loop Compensation of Dielectric Charge Induced by Ionizing Radiation, J. of Microelectromechanical Syst., 24(3), (2015)
- Regadío A, Sánchez-Prieto S, Tabero J, González-Castaño D M: Synthesis of optimal digital shapers with arbitrary noise using a genetic algorithm, NIM A 795 (2015)
- Gago-Arias A, Argüeso P, Aguiar P, González-Castaño D M, Gómez F and Pardo-Montero J: Characterization of tetramethylsilane for liquid-filled ionization dosimeters: Ion mobilities,free ion yield and general recombination, NIM A 785 (2015)
- Gómez F, González-Castaño D M, Díaz-Botana and Pardo-Montero J: Study of the PTW microLion chamber temperature dependence, Phys. Med. Biol. 59 (2014) 2705
- Gago-Arias A, Antolín E, Fayos-Ferrer F, Simón R, González-Castaño D M, Palmans H, Sharpe P, Gómez F and Pardo-Montero J: Correction factors for ionization chamber dosimetry in CyberKnife: Machine-specific, plan-class, and clinical fields, Med. Phys. 40, 011721 (2013)
- Gago-Arias A, Rodríguez-Romero R, Sánchez-Rubio P, González-Castaño D M, Gómez F, Núñez L, Palmans H, Sharpe P and Pardo-Montero J: Correction factors for A1SL ionization chamber dosimetry in TomoTherapy: Machine-specific, plan-class, and clinical fields, Med. Phys. 39, 1964 (2012)
- González-Castaño D M, Brualla Gonzalez L, Gago-Arias M A, Pardo Montero J, Gómez F, Luna-Vega V, Sánchez M and Lobato R: A convolution model for obtaining the response of an ionization chamber in static non standard fields, Med. Phys. 39, 482 (2012)
- Brualla-González L, Gómez F, Vicedo A, González-Castaño D M, Gago-Arias A, Pazos A, Zapata M, Rosello J V and Pardo-Montero J: A two-dimensional liquid-filled ionization chamber array prototype for small-field verification: characterization and first clinical tests, 2012 Phys. Med. Biol. 57 5221
- Gago-Arias A, Brualla-González L, González-Castaño D M, Gómez F, Sánchez García M, Luna Vega V, Mosquera Sueiro J and Pardo-Montero J: Evaluation of chamber response function influence on IMRT verification using 2D commercial detector arrays, 2012 Phys. Med. Biol. 57 2005
Internships at the USC
The Radiophysics Laboratory is used for internships in the following subjects:
- Medical Physics (subject in the USC Physics Degree).
- Medical applications of ionising radiation (subject in the Master's Degree in Nuclear and Particle Physics and its technological and medical applications of the USC).
Training activities
In addition, the following training activities were carried out in the Radiophysics Laboratory:
- Training visit to the Galician Civil Protection Emergency Team.
- Guided visits to secondary school students.
Radiophysics Laboratory
- Radiophysics Laboratory. Faculty of Physics
Estrada de San Lourenzo, 1, 15782
Santiago de Compostela
