PCT Engineered Electron Beam Energy Transfer User Manual
Electron beam energy transfer, Absorbed dose
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2012 PCT Engineered Systems LLC. All Rights Reserved
Electron Beam Energy Transfer
Absorbed Dose
Absorbed Dose is defined as the amount of energy deposited into a specified mass of material.
The unit of absorbed dose is the kilogray, defined as the number of joules (J) of energy
deposited into 1 kilogram of matter. An older, but frequently used unit, is the megarad (Mrad).
1kGy
= 1kJ/kg
1Mrad
= 10kGy = 10kJ/kg
At a fixed electron accelerating voltage, the dose is directly proportional to the electron beam
current. Typical values of the dose needed for practical applications are:
Drying/curing of inks and coatings
15-30 kGy
Crosslinking of plastic film
25-150 kGy
Sterilization of medical products
7.5-35 kGy
The transfer of energy from the electron beam into material is specified completely by
four parameters:
Absorbed dose
Depth of penetration
Uniformity
Throughput