Calibration of radiochromic EBT3 film using laser-accelerated protons

We present a proof of principle for onsite calibration of a radiochromic film (EBT3) using CR-39 as an absolute proton-counting detector and laser-accelerated protons as a calibration source. A special detector assembly composed of aluminum range filters, an EBT3 film, and a CR-39 detector is used to expose the EBT3 film with protons in an energy range of 3.65 MeV-5.85 MeV. In our design, the proton beam is divided into small beamlets and their projection images are taken on the EBT3 film and the CR-39 detector by maintaining a certain distance between the two detectors. Owing to the geometrical factor of the configuration and scattering inside the EBT3, the areal number density of protons was kept below the saturation level of the CR-39 detector. We also present a method to relate the number of protons detected on the CR-39 in a narrow energy range to protons with a broad energy spectrum that contribute to the dose deposited in the EBT3 film. The energy spectrum of protons emitted along the target normal direction is simultaneously measured using another CR-39 detector installed in a Thomson parabola spectrometer. The calibration curves for the EBT3 film were obtained in the optical density range of 0.01-0.25 for low dose values of 0.1 Gy-3.0 Gy. Our results are in good agreement with the calibrations of the EBT3 film that are traditionally carried out using conventional accelerators. The method presented here can be further extended for onsite calibration of radiochromic films of other types and for a higher range of dose values.