Parameters of ISO 4037 wide spectrum X-ray reference field

Abstract

The parameters of the ISO-4037 wide spectrum (W-series) X-ray reference fields were simulated using the SpekPy web-based simulation software. One of the most important physical quantities (air Kerma rate) and other radiation quantities (X-ray fluence spectrum and its averaged energy, the first and the second half value layers, as well as the beam homogeneity coefficient) were also deduced. The comparison in radiation quantities between the simulated (obtained from this work) and the ISO-published data was performed to confirm the reliability of SpekPy simulations (the maximum discrepancy between them was less than 4.0%). The air Kerma rate trend as a function of the W-series X-ray reference field was investigated and presented in this work. The values of air Kerma rates can be applied in calibrations of wide-spectrum X-ray measuring devices.