• Journal of Radiation Research and Radiation Processing
  • Vol. 42, Issue 6, 060102 (2024)
Zhiwei HE, Zhihao WANG, Mingshuo TANG, and Yunlong WANG*
Author Affiliations
  • School of Materials Science and Technology,Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics,Nanjing 230026,China
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    DOI: 10.11889/j.1000-3436.2024-0098 Cite this Article
    Zhiwei HE, Zhihao WANG, Mingshuo TANG, Yunlong WANG. Radiation dosimeter design based on photonic crystals and other structure color materials[J]. Journal of Radiation Research and Radiation Processing, 2024, 42(6): 060102 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    This article reviews recent studies on three-dimensional (3D) radiation dosimeter designs based on photonic crystals and other structure color materials. Photonic crystals and other structure color materials have a wide range of applications in fields such as medical detection,graphic printing,and anti-counterfeiting identification owing to their photonic bandgap properties and bright structural colors. The responsiveness of photonic crystals and other structure color materials to ionizing radiation has been exploited to develop a photonic crystal thin-film dosimeter than can achieve a full visible spectral shift of Bragg absorption peaks under X- or γ-ray irradiation. The dosimeter has a highly tunable application range and a spatial resolution exceeding 30 μm; moreover,it exhibits high environmental stability to light,temperature,and humidity. This study proposes three reading methods: spectrometer detection,naked-eye comparison with standard color cards,and mobile phone-based hue-value detection techniques. Additionally,the sensitivity of the photonic crystal dosimeter was improved by adding polyethylene glycol as a radiation-sensitive material. Gelatin methacrylate was used to prepare hydrogel films,which were chemically modified to introduce unsaturated vinyl groups to achieve sensitive response to X-rays. The hydrogel photonic crystal dosimeter demonstrated favorable dose-response performance on clinical radiotherapy equipment,which agrees well with the measurement results of commercial film dosimeters. Finally,the photonic crystal dosimeter was combined with three-dimensional printing technology to three-dimensionalize the hydrogel photonic crystal dosimeter,thus providing translational potential for topographic dose mapping in clinical radiotherapy. Meanwhile,new thin-film optical interference films have emerged,and the introduction of radiation-responsive groups such as modified double bonds,disulfides/diselenides/disulfides,and azo groups significantly improved their sensitivity and enabled simultaneous drug release under X-ray assistance. This study provides theoretical and technical foundation for the development of portable,real-time,wide-ranging,and high-spatial-resolution photonic crystal radiation dosimeters,which have demonstrated application potential,although their dose verification in actual medical radiotherapy is yet to be realized.
    Zhiwei HE, Zhihao WANG, Mingshuo TANG, Yunlong WANG. Radiation dosimeter design based on photonic crystals and other structure color materials[J]. Journal of Radiation Research and Radiation Processing, 2024, 42(6): 060102
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