63-MeV Proton Beam Profile Monitoring With Radioluminescent Ce-Doped Optical Fiber Sensor

We investigated the potential of an optical material (Ce-doped silica rod of ~0.5 mm in diameter and ~1 cm in length) developed by a sol–gel process to perform in situ proton beam profile measurement through the monitoring of its visible radioluminescence (RIL) features peaking around 480 nm. Various test configurations (collimator sizes and varying distances from the collimators) have been performed to assess the sensor performances at the TRIUMF facility in Vancouver offering a 63-MeV proton beam. The obtained results are promising, showing their potential to characterize the flux and beam profile at this facility offering radiation testing capabilities or medical treatments. The reported performances could be improved by pre-irradiating the probe sample to reduce the observed slight bright burn effect on the quality of the profile measurements. These results open the way to most advanced sensors’ architecture such as ribbons of optical fibers drawn from this sol–gel rod, to acquire in one step the complete beam profile.