Angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer and implementation method thereof

Abstract

The application is applied to the technical field of proton detection, and discloses an angle-resolved proton beam energy spectrometer and an implementation method thereof. The energy spectrometer comprises, in sequence along the outgoing direction of the proton beam, a Teflon ball group, a scintillator, an imaging module and an image acquisition module. The Teflon ball group is arranged on the side of the scintillator far from the imaging module. The Teflon ball group receives and attenuates the proton beam signal. The scintillator converts the attenuated proton beam signal into a visible light signal. The imaging module images the visible light signal to the image acquisition module. The image acquisition module acquires the visible light image. The method comprises acquiring the visible light image, and calculating the angle distribution and the energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal according to the image. The energy spectrometer has a small volume, a low cost and is easy to move. The energy spectrometer can simultaneously realize real-time detection of the energy spectrum distribution and the angle distribution of the proton beam. The energy spectrometer omits the step of taking out the components after each proton beam detection and then scanning, effectively shortens the proton detection time and improves the detection efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of proton beam detection technology, and in particular to an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer and its implementation method. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, proton beam energy spectra are typically detected using multilayer radiochromic film (RCF) or magnetic spectrometers. For RCF detection, a scanner is needed to scan multiple radiochromic filters individually to obtain an angle-resolved energy spectrum of the proton beam. For magnetic spectrometer measurements, the spectra are generally quite large; however, real-time measurement of the energy spectrum can be achieved when using scintillators or multichannel plates. Existing proton beam spectrometers and proton beam detection technologies have the following drawbacks: 1) The multilayer radiochromic film detection method usually requires repeatedly opening the instrument to take out and put in the radiochromic film, which is cumbersome, the proton detection time is relatively long, the proton detection efficiency is low, and it is impossible to detect the energy spectrum of protons in real time. 2) Existing magnetic spectrometer measurement methods can achieve real-time detection of proton energy spectrum, but magnetic spectrometers are large in size and expensive, and the cost of proton beam energy spectrum detection is high. This is not conducive to multiple moves of the proton beam energy spectrometer and cannot meet the experimental requirements of high frequency of proton detection position changes.

[0003] 3) Existing proton beam detection technology can only measure the energy spectrum distribution or the angular distribution of the proton beam, and cannot simultaneously measure both the energy spectrum distribution and the angular distribution of the proton beam. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an angle-resolved proton beam energy spectrometer and its implementation method, so as to solve one or more technical problems existing in the prior art, and at least provide a beneficial option or create conditions.

[0005] The solution to the technical problem of this invention is as follows: In a first aspect, this application provides an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer, comprising a Teflon ball assembly, a scintillator, an imaging module, and an image acquisition module arranged coaxially along the proton beam emission direction. The Teflon ball assembly is disposed on the side of the scintillator away from the imaging module. The Teflon ball assembly is used to receive and attenuate the proton beam signal. The scintillator is used to convert the attenuated proton beam signal into a visible light signal. The imaging module is used to image the visible light signal onto the image acquisition module, and the image acquisition module is used to acquire a visible light image.

[0006] Furthermore, the Teflon ball assembly comprises two sets of Teflon balls, which are perpendicular to each other and arranged in a cross shape on the scintillator.

[0007] Furthermore, each group of Teflon balls comprises multiple solid Teflon balls, each Teflon ball having the same diameter and the same spacing between adjacent Teflon balls.

[0008] Furthermore, for each Teflon ball in the Teflon ball group, the straight line between the contact point between the Teflon ball and the scintillator and the center of the Teflon ball is taken as the first straight line, and the straight line distance between the contact point between the proton beam signal and the Teflon ball and the first straight line is taken as the contact distance. The propagation distance of the proton beam signal is inversely proportional to the contact distance.

[0009] Furthermore, for each Teflon ball in the Teflon ball group, the position of the projection of the contact point between the proton beam signal and the Teflon ball onto the side of the scintillator close to the Teflon ball is taken as the receiving position of the scintillator. The proton beam energy received at the receiving position is proportional to the contact distance.

[0010] Furthermore, the proton beam spectrometer also includes a shielding shell, and the Teflon sphere assembly and the scintillator are both disposed within the shielding shell.

[0011] Furthermore, the scintillator is BC400.

[0012] Secondly, this application provides a method for implementing an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer, comprising the following steps: Visible light images were obtained using an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer. Based on the visible light image, the angular distribution and energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal are calculated.

[0013] Furthermore, the calculation steps for the energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal include: analyzing the gray values ​​of each position of the scintillator based on the visible light image to obtain the energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal.

[0014] Furthermore, the calculation steps for the angular distribution of the proton beam signal include: analyzing the energy deposition information of each Teflon ball based on the visible light image, calculating the difference in energy deposition information of each Teflon ball, and obtaining the energy distribution of the proton beam signal in each corner range, i.e., the angular distribution of the proton beam signal; The corner range is defined as the angular range within which the Teflon ball receives the proton beam signal.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: It provides an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer and its implementation method. On the one hand, the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer provided by this invention is smaller in size, lighter in weight, and lower in cost, making it easy to move and conduct detection in different locations or experimental measurements in different laboratories, thus meeting the experimental requirements of high frequency of proton detection position changes. On the other hand, since a scintillator is selected as the detector, real-time detection of the proton beam energy spectrum can be achieved, effectively improving the detection efficiency of the proton beam energy spectrum. Furthermore, this invention can simultaneously detect the energy spectrum distribution and angular distribution of the proton beam signal, obtaining multidimensional information of the proton beam at the same time. It eliminates the step of removing components and rescanning the instrument after each proton beam detection, greatly shortening the proton detection time and effectively improving the proton detection efficiency.

[0016] Other features and advantages of this application will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the application. The objectives and other advantages of this application may be realized and obtained by means of the structures particularly pointed out in the description, claims and drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating the prior art for measuring the energy spectrum distribution of a proton beam, as provided in this application; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer provided in this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the Teflon ball assembly and scintillator provided in this application; Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing proton beam signals from different directions incident on a Teflon sphere, as provided in this application; Figure 5 A distribution diagram of the deposition energy density of the scintillator provided in this application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating the prior art for measuring the angular distribution of a proton beam, as provided in this application; Figure 7 Simulation results of the proton energy spectrum distribution provided in this application; Figure 8 This is an example diagram illustrating the measurement of the proton beam angular distribution in a specific experimental scenario provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0018] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0019] The present application will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The described embodiments should not be considered as limitations on the present application, and all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0020] In the following description, references are made to “some embodiments,” which describe a subset of all possible embodiments. However, it is understood that “some embodiments” may be the same subset or different subsets of all possible embodiments and may be combined with each other without conflict.

[0021] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing embodiments of this application only and is not intended to limit this application.

[0022] Before providing a further detailed description of the embodiments of this application, the nouns and terms involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained, and the nouns and terms involved in the embodiments of this application shall be interpreted as follows.

[0023] 1) A scintillator is a material that emits light after absorbing high-energy particles such as ions and electrons or rays such as X-rays. The light emitted is visible light or ultraviolet light. The principle of scintillator luminescence is that when high-energy particles irradiate the scintillator, they lose some energy. This energy is deposited on the scintillator, causing it to emit visible light or ultraviolet light.

[0024] 2) Radiochromic film (RCF) is a type of autoradiographic film used to test and characterize radiation devices such as CT scanners and radiotherapy accelerators. This film contains a dye that changes color when exposed to ionizing radiation, thus characterizing exposure levels and beam profiles. The degree of color change and the absorbed radiation dose of the RCF are known; therefore, by stacking multiple layers of RCF and scanning each layer separately, the energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam can be obtained.

[0025] Reference Figure 1 The diagram shows a stacked schematic of a ten-layer radiochromic film used to measure the energy spectrum of an incident proton beam. Figure 1 The 10μm aluminum foil on the left is used to filter protons with energies below 750 to 800 keV. The energy above the red arrow refers to the energy required for a proton to reach this layer of radiochromic film. Figure 1The image above shows the experimental results of proton beam measurements. Different degrees of color change correspond to different radiation absorption doses; the darker the color, the greater the absorption dose, indicating that the number of low-energy protons is much greater than the number of high-energy protons. Therefore, the number of protons can be calculated based on the degree of color change of the radiochromic film and the radiation dose absorbed by the film, thus obtaining the proton energy spectrum distribution.

[0026] 3) The Bragg peak is a sharp peak of energy deposition. The principle of its generation is that when high-energy ions enter the interior of a substance, they lose their own energy and ionize the atoms inside the substance, thus depositing their own energy in the object. When the ions move in the object, most of the energy is released when the ions are about to stop moving, producing the sharp peak of energy deposition, namely the Bragg peak.

[0027] Currently, proton beam energy spectra are typically detected using multilayer radiochromic film (RCF) or magnetic spectrometers. For RCF detection, a scanner is needed to scan multiple radiochromic filters individually to obtain an angle-resolved energy spectrum of the proton beam. For magnetic spectrometer measurements, the instruments are generally quite large; however, real-time measurement of the energy spectrum can be achieved when using scintillators or multichannel plates. Existing proton beam spectrometers and proton beam detection technologies have the following drawbacks: 1) The multilayer radiochromic film detection method usually requires repeatedly opening the instrument to take out and put in the radiochromic film, which is cumbersome, the proton detection time is relatively long, the proton detection efficiency is low, and it is impossible to detect the energy spectrum of protons in real time. 2) Existing magnetic spectrometer measurement methods can achieve real-time detection of proton energy spectrum, but magnetic spectrometers are large in size and expensive, and the cost of proton beam energy spectrum detection is high. This is not conducive to multiple moves of the proton beam energy spectrometer and cannot meet the experimental requirements of high frequency of proton detection position changes.

[0028] 3) Existing proton beam detection technology can only measure the energy spectrum distribution or the angular distribution of the proton beam, and cannot simultaneously measure both the energy spectrum distribution and the angular distribution of the proton beam.

[0029] This invention proposes an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer and its implementation method to address the deficiencies and problems of related technologies. Compared to existing proton beam spectrometers, the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer proposed in this invention is smaller, lighter, and easier to move, facilitating detection at different locations or experimental measurements in different laboratories, thus meeting the experimental requirements of frequent proton detection position changes. Furthermore, this invention selects an economical scintillator as the detector, which is reusable, effectively reducing the experimental cost of proton detection. Compared to existing proton detection technologies, the implementation method proposed in this invention can simultaneously detect the energy spectrum distribution and angular distribution of the proton beam signal, eliminating the step of removing components and rescanning the instrument after each proton beam detection, greatly shortening the proton detection time and effectively improving proton detection efficiency.

[0030] Reference Figure 2 , Figure 2 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer proposed in an embodiment of the present invention. An embodiment of this application will be described in detail below. The angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer 100 proposed in this embodiment mainly includes: The Teflon ball assembly 110 is designed to acquire and attenuate proton beam signals.

[0031] The scintillator 120 has a Teflon ball group 110 on the side away from the imaging module 130, which is used to convert the attenuated proton beam signal into a visible light signal.

[0032] In this specific embodiment, the scintillator 120 is a BC400. Its basic principle is that when the proton beam signal is incident on the scintillator 120, most of the energy will be absorbed by the scintillator 120, so that the scintillator 120 converts this part of the energy into a visible light signal.

[0033] It should be noted that BC400 is a plastic scintillator with a density of 1.032 g / cc and a hydrogen-to-carbon ratio of 1.103. It is similar to a plastic crystal and can be excited to emit light.

[0034] The imaging module 130 is used to image visible light signals onto the image acquisition module 140.

[0035] Optionally, the imaging module 130 includes either an imaging lens or a fiber bundle.

[0036] The image acquisition module 140 is used to acquire visible light images through the imaging module 130.

[0037] Optionally, the image acquisition module 140 is a visible light camera.

[0038] It should be noted that in the proton beam spectrometer of the present invention, the Teflon ball assembly 110, the scintillator 120, the imaging module 130 and the image acquisition module 140 are arranged coaxially along the proton beam emission direction.

[0039] The working principle of the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer proposed in this embodiment of the invention is as follows: A Teflon sphere assembly 110, a scintillator 120, an imaging module 130, and an image acquisition module 140 are coaxially arranged along the proton beam emission direction. A laser 200 incident on the target material 300 generates a proton beam. First, the Teflon sphere assembly 110 receives proton beam signals from different directions. After the proton beam signals are attenuated by the Teflon sphere assembly, the scintillator 120 converts the proton beam signals into visible light signals. Finally, the visible light signal generated by the scintillator 120 is imaged onto the image acquisition module 140 using the imaging module 130. Based on the visible light image output by the image acquisition module 140, the energy spectrum distribution and angular distribution of the proton beam signal are calculated, thereby achieving real-time detection of the proton beam signal.

[0040] Reference Figure 3 , Figure 3 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of the Teflon ball assembly and scintillator proposed in an embodiment of the present invention. An embodiment of this application will be further described below regarding the structure and function of the Teflon ball assembly.

[0041] First, let's look at the structure of the Teflon ball assembly 110. The Teflon ball assembly 110 includes two sets of Teflon balls: a vertical Teflon ball assembly 111 and a horizontal Teflon ball assembly 112. The vertical Teflon ball assembly 111 and the horizontal Teflon ball assembly 112 are perpendicular to each other, that is, the vertical Teflon ball assembly 111 and the horizontal Teflon ball assembly 112 are arranged in a cross shape on the scintillator 120.

[0042] As a further embodiment, both the vertical Teflon ball group 111 and the horizontal Teflon ball group 112 include a plurality of solid Teflon balls 113. Each Teflon ball 113 has the same diameter, and the spacing between two adjacent Teflon balls 113 is the same.

[0043] Optionally, each Teflon ball 113 can be selected with a diameter length of 1 mm, 2 mm, or 3 mm.

[0044] Optionally, the spacing between two adjacent Teflon balls 113 is equal to the diameter of the Teflon ball 113. For example, when a Teflon ball 113 with a diameter of 1 mm is selected, the spacing between two adjacent Teflon balls 113 is also 1 mm.

[0045] In this embodiment of the invention, the total number of Teflon balls 113 distributed on the scintillator 120 is not specifically limited. The total number of Teflon balls 113 can be determined based on the interval between two adjacent Teflon balls 113 and the diameter of the Teflon balls 113. For example, when Teflon balls 113 with a diameter of 1 mm are selected and the interval between two adjacent Teflon balls 113 is 1 mm, the number of Teflon balls 113 distributed on the scintillator 120 is at most 35.

[0046] Secondly, there is the function of the Teflon ball assembly 110. In this embodiment of the invention, the Teflon ball 113 is mainly used to attenuate the incident proton beam signal. When the proton beam passes through a single Teflon ball 113, the energy lost by the proton beam at different positions through the Teflon ball 113 is different, and the proton beam energy received by the scintillator 120 at different positions of the Teflon ball 113 is also different.

[0047] Reference Figure 4 , Figure 4 The diagram illustrates proton beam signals from different directions incident on a Teflon sphere 113. For a single Teflon sphere 113, in this embodiment of the invention, the contact point between the Teflon sphere 113 and the scintillator 120 is defined as the first contact point. The contact point between any proton beam signal and the Teflon ball 113 is the second contact point. First contact point The straight line containing the center O of the Teflon ball 113 is the first straight line, which is also the Y-axis. Simultaneously, this embodiment of the invention defines a second contact point. The straight-line distance between the first straight line and the second contact point is defined as the contact distance. The position projected onto the horizontal plane is the receiving position of the scintillator 120. It can be understood that the horizontal plane is the side of the scintillator 120 closest to the Teflon ball 113, and the receiving position is specifically the position where the scintillator 120 receives the attenuated proton beam signal.

[0048] In this embodiment of the invention, the propagation distance of any proton beam signal in the Teflon sphere 113 is shown by the following formula: ,

[0049] In the formula, h represents the propagation distance of any proton beam signal, and r represents the second contact point corresponding to any proton beam signal. The distance between the Y-axis and the Teflon ball 113 is represented by R, which is the radius of the Teflon ball.

[0050] Reference Figure 5 , Figure 5 The image shows the distribution of the deposition energy density of the scintillator. (From...) Figure 5As can be seen, the scintillator 120 in the proton beam spectrometer of this embodiment of the invention will exhibit a visible light signal that is dark in the center and bright at the edges. When the second contact point... The closer to the Y-axis, the greater the propagation distance of the proton beam signal, the lower the deposition energy density of the scintillator 120, the smaller the proton beam energy received at the position of the scintillator 120 corresponding to the Teflon ball 113, and the less visible light signal it generates. When the second contact point... The further away from the Y-axis, the shorter the propagation distance of the proton beam signal, the higher the deposition energy density of the scintillator 120, the greater the proton beam energy received at the position of the scintillator 120 corresponding to the Teflon ball 113, and the more visible light signal it generates.

[0051] In other words, the propagation distance of the proton beam signal is inversely proportional to the contact distance; the smaller the contact distance, the greater the propagation distance of the proton beam signal; conversely, the greater the contact distance, the smaller the propagation distance of the proton beam signal. Furthermore, the proton beam energy received at the receiving position is directly proportional to the contact distance; the smaller the contact distance, the lower the proton beam energy received at the receiving position; conversely, the greater the contact distance, the greater the proton beam energy received at the receiving position.

[0052] In some embodiments of the present invention, the proton beam spectrometer further includes a shielding shell 150, with the scintillator 120 and Teflon ball assembly 110 all disposed within the shielding shell 150. The function of the shielding shell 150 is to prevent other stray light in space from affecting the scintillator 120, ensuring that the light generated by the scintillator 120 originates only from the incident proton beam.

[0053] Based on the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer 100 proposed in the embodiments of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention also propose a method for implementing the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer 100, which is used to detect proton beams and realize the simultaneous measurement of the energy spectrum distribution and angle distribution of proton beams.

[0054] It should be noted that the energy spectrum distribution of a proton beam refers to the energy distribution of the proton beam. However, regarding the angular distribution of the proton beam, in laser-driven ion experiments, because the intensity distribution of the laser is not uniform, the angular distribution of the high-energy ion beam generated when the laser interacts with matter varies. (Refer to...) Figure 6 , Figure 6 (a) shows the Gaussian sheath generated by the interaction of a Gaussian laser with a hydrocarbon material, where the green portion is not uniformly distributed, and the proton beam generated by the acceleration mechanism is also not uniformly distributed. Figure 6 (b) is an example of the angular distribution of the proton beam signal. The horizontal axis represents the angle, and the vertical axis represents the proton angular density. It can be seen that there are differences in the proton angular density at different angles. Existing technologies generally use a proton beam spectrometer with a radiochromic film to measure the angular distribution.

[0055] The following will describe in detail a method for implementing an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method for implementing an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer mainly includes the following steps: S101 obtains visible light images using an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer.

[0056] In this step, the proton beam signal is incident on the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer 100 proposed in this embodiment of the invention. In the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer 100, the proton beam signal is attenuated by a Teflon ball array 110, and the attenuated proton beam signal is converted into a visible light signal by a scintillator 120. The visible light signal is imaged to the image acquisition module 140 by the imaging module 130, and a visible light image is obtained by the image acquisition module 140.

[0057] S102, based on the visible light image, calculate the angular distribution and energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal.

[0058] A key innovation of this invention is the simultaneous measurement of the angular distribution of the proton beam signal and its energy spectrum distribution. As a further implementation, the measurement of the proton beam signal's energy spectrum distribution in this invention primarily includes the following steps: S201 uses visible light image analysis to determine the grayscale values ​​at various locations of the scintillator, thereby obtaining the energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal.

[0059] In this step, the imaging module 130 collects the visible light into the image acquisition module 140. The proton beam signal experiences varying degrees of energy loss as it passes through different positions of the Teflon sphere 113, resulting in Bragg peaks of different depths on the scintillator 120. These Bragg peaks correspond to different deposition energies on the scintillator 120. By analyzing the grayscale value and proton deposition energy at each position of the scintillator 120, the visible light intensity at different thicknesses of each Teflon sphere 113 can be obtained, thus revealing the energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal.

[0060] As an example, refer to Figure 7 , Figure 7 The image shown is a simulation result of the proton energy spectrum distribution. Figure 7 This also represents the energy of proton beam signals with different initial energies deposited on the scintillator after attenuation by Teflon balls. Figure 7 The vertical axis represents the deposition energy density, and the horizontal axis represents the thickness through which the proton beam passes, corresponding to different thicknesses of the Teflon sphere 113 mentioned above. In this embodiment of the invention, the diameter of the Teflon sphere 113 is varied to measure the proton beam energy spectrum distribution in different energy ranges.

[0061] It should be noted that the grayscale value analysis involved in this step is existing technology, and will not be described again in this embodiment of the invention.

[0062] The measurement of the angular distribution of the proton beam signal mainly includes the following steps: S202, based on the visible light image analysis, the energy deposition information of each Teflon ball is analyzed, the difference in energy deposition information of each Teflon ball is calculated, and the energy distribution of the proton beam signal in each corner range is obtained, that is, the angular distribution of the proton beam signal.

[0063] In this step, the energy deposition information of each Teflon ball 113 is first analyzed. The energy deposition information of each Teflon ball 113 actually refers to the energy of the proton beam signal deposited on the scintillator 120 after attenuation by the Teflon ball 113. Then, by comparing the differences in deposition data collected from different Teflon balls 113, the energy distribution of the proton beam signal in various angular ranges is finally obtained, that is, the angular distribution of the proton beam signal.

[0064] It should be noted that the angular range refers to the angular range within which the Teflon ball 113 can receive the proton beam signal. In this embodiment of the invention, each Teflon ball 113 is arranged on the scintillator 120 according to a certain rule. According to its arrangement rule, each Teflon ball 113 receives the proton beam signal within a certain angular range. The angular range that each Teflon ball 113 can receive is determined by the total divergence angle of the proton beam signal and the number of Teflon ball groups 110, as shown in the following formula: ,

[0065] In the formula, This indicates the range of angles that each Teflon ball 113 can receive. The total divergence angle of the proton beam signal is represented by N, which is the number of Teflon ball groups 110, i.e., the total number of Teflon balls 113 in either the vertical Teflon ball group 111 or the horizontal Teflon ball group 112. Assuming the total divergence angle of the proton beam is 40°, and each of the vertical Teflon ball group 111 or the horizontal Teflon ball group 112 includes 10 Teflon balls 113, then each Teflon ball 113 can receive the proton beam signal within a 4° angular range, and the angular resolution of the proton beam spectrometer is 4°.

[0066] The principle of the angular distribution measurement of the proton beam signal according to an embodiment of the present invention is further explained below with reference to an example. Figure 8 , Figure 8The diagram illustrates the measurement of the angular distribution of a proton beam in a specific experimental setting, showing a side view of a group of Teflon balls 113 and a scintillator 120. In this embodiment, the distance between the target material 300 used to generate the proton beam signal and the angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer 100 is defined as 5 cm. The maximum divergence angle of the proton beam generated by the laser 200 incident on the target material 300 is approximately 40°. Both the vertical Teflon ball group 111 and the horizontal Teflon ball group 112 include 10 Teflon balls 113. The laser 200 incident on the target material 300 is an ultrashort pulse laser.

[0067] It should be noted that proton beam divergence is a physical phenomenon, and the divergence angle of the proton beam produced by the interaction of different types of lasers with different materials is different.

[0068] In this specific embodiment, the energy spectrum distribution, i.e., the angular distribution, of proton beam signals at multiple different angles is measured using any set of Teflon balls 113. The intensity distribution of the laser 200 incident on the target material 300 is not uniform, and the velocity of the protons generated after the laser 200 irradiates the target material 300 is also inconsistent. Therefore, the proton signal received by each Teflon ball 113 is also different. Thus, this specific embodiment collects the visible light signal generated by the scintillator 120 and analyzes the energy deposition data corresponding to each ball. By comparing the differences in deposition data collected from different balls, the energy distribution of the proton beam signal within a 4° range covered by each Teflon ball 113 is finally obtained, i.e., the angular distribution of the proton beam signal.

[0069] In summary, compared with existing proton beam spectrometers, the embodiments of the present invention have the following technical advantages: 1) Angle-resolved proton beam spectrometers are smaller, lighter, and cheaper, making them easier to move and conduct detection in different locations or in different laboratories. They can meet the experimental requirements of high frequency of proton detection location changes. 2) Choosing an economical scintillator as the detector, which can be reused, effectively reduces the experimental cost of proton detection, while enabling real-time (online) detection of the proton beam energy spectrum, effectively improving experimental efficiency. 3) It can simultaneously detect the energy spectrum distribution and angular distribution of the proton beam signal in real time, and can obtain multidimensional information of the proton beam at the same time. It eliminates the step of removing the instrument components and rescanning after each proton beam detection, which greatly shortens the proton detection time and effectively improves the proton detection efficiency.

[0070] The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc. (if present) in the specification and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented, for example, in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.

[0071] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, and "more than" means two or more. "And / or" is used to describe the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent three cases: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0072] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, apparatuses, or units, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0073] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0074] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0075] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0076] The step numbers in the above method embodiments are set only for ease of explanation and do not limit the order of the steps. The execution order of each step in the embodiments can be adaptively adjusted according to the understanding of those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer, characterized in that, The system includes a Teflon ball assembly, a scintillator, an imaging module, and an image acquisition module, all coaxially arranged along the proton beam emission direction. The Teflon ball assembly is located on the side of the scintillator away from the imaging module. The Teflon ball assembly is used to receive and attenuate the proton beam signal. The scintillator is used to convert the attenuated proton beam signal into a visible light signal. The imaging module is used to image the visible light signal onto the image acquisition module, and the image acquisition module is used to acquire a visible light image. The Teflon ball group comprises two sets of Teflon balls, which are arranged perpendicularly to each other and in a cross shape on the scintillator.

2. The angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each group of Teflon balls comprises multiple solid Teflon balls, each Teflon ball having the same diameter and the same spacing between adjacent Teflon balls.

3. The angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer according to claim 1, characterized in that, For each Teflon ball in the Teflon ball group, the straight line between the contact point between the Teflon ball and the scintillator and the center of the Teflon ball is taken as the first straight line, and the straight line distance between the contact point between the proton beam signal and the Teflon ball and the first straight line is taken as the contact distance. The propagation distance of the proton beam signal is inversely proportional to the contact distance.

4. The angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer according to claim 3, characterized in that, For each Teflon ball in the Teflon ball group, the position of the projection of the contact point between the proton beam signal and the Teflon ball onto the side of the scintillator close to the Teflon ball is taken as the receiving position of the scintillator. The proton beam energy received at the receiving position is proportional to the contact distance.

5. The angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The proton beam spectrometer also includes a shielding shell, and the Teflon ball assembly and the scintillator are both disposed inside the shielding shell.

6. The angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer according to claim 1, characterized in that, The scintillator is BC400.

7. A method for implementing an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer, characterized in that, The method is applied to an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer as described in any one of claims 1-6, and the method includes the following steps: Visible light images were obtained using an angle-resolved proton beam spectrometer. Based on the visible light image, the angular distribution and energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal were calculated; The calculation steps for the energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal include: analyzing the gray values ​​and proton deposition energy at each position of the scintillator to obtain the visible light intensity at different thicknesses of each Teflon ball, thereby obtaining the energy spectrum distribution of the proton beam signal; The calculation steps for the angular distribution of the proton beam signal include: analyzing the energy deposition information of each Teflon ball based on the visible light image, calculating the difference in energy deposition information of each Teflon ball, and obtaining the energy distribution of the proton beam signal in each corner range, i.e., the angular distribution of the proton beam signal; The corner range is defined as the angular range within which the Teflon ball receives the proton beam signal.

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