Naoto Yamada

In situ ion-beam-induced luminescence analysis for evaluating a micrometer-scale radio-photoluminescence glass dosimeter

Micrometer-scale responses of radio-photoluminescence (RPL) glass dosimeters to focused ionized particle radiation were evaluated by combining ion-beam-induced luminescence (IBIL) and proton beam writing (PBW) using a 3 MeV focused proton microbeam. RPL phosphate glass dosimeters doped with ionic Ag or Cu activators at concentrations of 0.2 and 0.1% were fabricated, and their scintillation intensities were evaluated by IBIL spectroscopy under a PBW micropatterning condition. Compared with the Ag-doped dosimeter, the Cu-doped dosimeter was more tolerant of the radiation, while the peak intensity of its luminescence was lower, under the precise dose control of the proton microprobe. Proton-irradiated areas were successfully recorded using these dosimeters and their RPL centers were visualized under 375 nm ultraviolet light. The reproduction of the irradiated region by post-RPL imaging suggests that precise estimation of irradiation dose using microdosimeters can be accomplished by optimizing RPL glass dosimeters for various proton microprobe applications in organic material analysis and in micrometer-scale material modifications.

Boron analysis for neutron capture therapy using particle-induced gamma-ray emission

The neutron source of BNCT is currently changing from reactor to accelerator, but peripheral facilities such as a dose-planning system and blood boron analysis have still not been established. To evaluate the potential application of particle-induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE) for boron measurement in clinical boron neutron capture therapy, boronophenylalanine dissolved within a cell culture medium was measured using PIGE. PIGE detected 18 μgB/mL f-BPA in the culture medium, and all measurements of any given sample were taken within 20 min. Two hours of f-BPA exposure was required to create a boron distribution image. However, even though boron remained in the cells, the boron on the cell membrane could not be distinguished from the boron in the cytoplasm.

Fabrication and evaluation of flexible Mach–Zehnder waveguide structure embedded in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) thin film using a proton microbeam

A flexible Mach–Zehnder (MZ) optical waveguide was fabricated in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) film by proton beam writing (PBW). A focused 750 keV proton microbeam was used to fabricate a 40 × 20 mm2 MZ optical waveguide structure with a width of 8 µm embedded in a PDMS film for the single-mode light propagation of infrared (IR) laser light. The structure was measured by ion-beam-induced luminescence (IBIL) analysis and the beam fluence was optimized according to the IBIL intensity obtained from the waveguide structure. The entire structure of the MZ waveguide functioned well, confirmed by observing the near-field pattern (NFP) with a tunable IR laser (1.55 µm) for different PDMS film conditions. The optical throughput measurements for different sample configurations were obtained under continuous mechanical stress and a relatively low optical loss was observed at an inclination angle of 16°. Our results suggest that the MZ waveguide can be used for optical interlink connections under continuous mechanical stress.