KR20140067428A - Target for generating proton, method of fabricating the same and treatment apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a target for generating a proton and a treatment apparatus using the same. The treatment apparatus comprises: a target for generating a proton which includes a bearing substrate having a through-hole; a first graphene layer provided on one side of the bearing substrate, a liquid state hydrogen droplet provided on the first graphene layer above the through-hole part and generates the proton with a laser beam which is injected, and a second graphene layer provided on the first graphene layer to surround the liquid state hydrogen droplet not to evaporate; and a laser generating a proton from the hydrogen droplet and projecting to a tumor region of a patient for making the laser beam be irradiated into the hydrogen droplet of the target for generating a proton.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a target for generating protons, a method for manufacturing the same, and a therapeutic apparatus using the same.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a target for generating protons using hydrogen droplets in a liquid state, a method for manufacturing the target, and an ion beam treatment apparatus using the target.

There are X-ray, electron beam and ion beam therapies in radiation treatment methods. X-ray therapy is currently the most commonly used radiotherapy method because it is the cheapest method that can be implemented using the simplest devices. Although electron accelerating accelerators have been shown to be able to treat tumors when injected into tumors in the 1950s, electron beam therapy has become one of the methods of radiation therapy in earnest by realizing miniaturization of electron accelerators in the 1980s. I was caught. On the other hand, X-ray therapy or electron beam therapy has disrupted hydrogen bonds in cancer cells by breaking hydrogen bonds in cancer cells, but it has accompanied side effects that seriously damage healthy cells present in the pathway. Techniques such as Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) or tomotherapy (Tomo Therapy) and Cyber Knife have been developed as methods for reducing the exposure problem to these normal cells. However, It was not completely resolved.

Ion beam therapy is attracting attention as a treatment tool to alleviate side effects in x-ray therapy or electron beam therapy. In order for the ion beam to penetrate the material, it must accelerate as fast as the electrons and have a high speed. Although the ion beam will gradually decrease in speed when it passes through certain materials, the ion beam experiences the most energy loss of ionizing radiation just before stopping. This phenomenon is called Bragg Peak, in the name of William Henry Bragg, who discovered it in 1903. Therefore, in the case of ion beam therapy, selective and local treatment of malignant tumors is possible when the velocity of ions is precisely controlled. When a tumor is located deep in the body, it is necessary to accelerate proton or ion with a very large energy outside the body. One of the methods of accelerating such protons or ions is laser driven ion acceleration. When a high-power laser beam is irradiated onto a thin film, ions or protons in the thin film are accelerated by a target normal sheath acceleration model (TNSA model) or a radiation pressure acceleration model (RPA model) And escape out. The escaped ions pass through the patient's body as much energy as they have and stop at a certain depth at which the tumor is located. It is known that a large amount of free oxygen radicals are generated in the stationary region, It becomes the principle of treatment.

In ion beam therapy using laser induced ion acceleration method, ions have two properties. In order to inject deeper ions into the body, it must be a high energy ion and most of the ions must have the same energy. Proton penetrates 20 cm of the body at an energy of 250 MeV. High energy ions, such as 70 MeV, are required for treatment of cancer of the organs, and high energy ions of more than 200 MeV are needed for treatment of deep cancer.

Also, the energy of most proton or ions induced by the femto second laser must be uniform. If it is not uniform, ions can not accumulate only at the tumor site, and normal tissues may be exposed to ions.

In order to satisfy these two reasons, the thickness of the target as a source of ions must be very small. Therefore, the target should be an ultra thin film.

The energy of the laser for accelerating these ions should have a very large energy of 10 ¹⁹ to 10 ²¹ W / cm ² . This means a very large laser system and means a large budget.

The object of the present invention is to provide a target for generating a proton capable of generating a high-energy proton.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a proton-generating target capable of generating high-energy protons.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ion beam treatment apparatus using a proton-generating target capable of generating a high-energy proton.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other matters not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a target for generating a proton. The target includes a support substrate having a through hole, a first graphene layer provided on one surface of the support substrate, a liquid state hydrogen droplet provided on the first graphene layer in the region of the through hole, for generating protons by an incident laser beam, And a second graphene layer provided on the first graphene layer so as to surround the liquid state hydrogen droplet without evaporation.

The through hole can be used as the path of the laser beam.

The through-hole may have a width that gradually increases as the distance from the first graphene layer increases.

And the metal nanoparticles provided on the first graphene layer on the through hole side. The metal nanoparticles may comprise gold, silver, copper or aluminum.

Liquid state hydrogen droplets can have volumes ranging from a few nanometers to a few microliters.

Each of the first and second graphene layers may comprise a single to several tens of atomic layers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a target for generating protons. The method includes forming a first graphene layer on one side of a support substrate having a through hole, providing a solid state hydrogen droplet on the first graphene layer in the region of the through hole, and forming a solid state hydrogen And forming a second graphene layer to surround the droplet. The solid state hydrogen droplets can be converted into liquid state hydrogen droplets. A liquid state hydrogen droplet can generate protons by the incident laser beam.

The through-hole may have a width that gradually increases as the distance from the first graphene layer increases.

And forming metal nanoparticles on the first graphene layer on the through hole side. The metal nanoparticles may comprise gold, silver, copper or aluminum.

The solid state hydrogen droplets may have a volume ranging from a few nanometers to a few microliters.

Each of the first and second graphene layers may comprise a single to several tens of atomic layers.

In addition, in order to achieve the above-mentioned further object, the present invention provides an ion beam treatment apparatus. The treatment device may include a laser for introducing a laser beam into the hydrogen droplet to generate a proton from the hydrogen droplet of the target for proton generation and the proton generating target described above and project it to the tumor area of the patient.

The laser may be disposed on the other side of the support substrate opposite to the first graphene layer.

The laser beam may be a femtosecond laser beam.

The wavelength of the laser beam may range from 800 to 1,000 nanometers.

And the metal nanoparticles provided on the first graphene layer on the through hole side. The laser beam incident on the metal nanoparticles forms a surface plasmon resonance, an enhanced near field is formed by the surface plasmon resonance than the intensity of the laser beam, and a proton is emitted from the liquid state hydrogen droplet by the near field.

The intensity of the near field may be several tens to tens of thousands times greater than the intensity of the laser beam.

The metal nanoparticles may comprise gold, silver, copper or aluminum.

As described above, according to the solution of the problem of the present invention, the proton-generating target has a hydrogen droplet surrounded by graphene layers, whereby a high energy proton is generated by the laser beam incident on the hydrogen droplet. Can be generated. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a target for generating a proton capable of generating a high-energy proton without requiring a high process technology such as a semiconductor processing process for manufacturing an ultra-thin film, have.

Further, according to a solution to the problem of the present invention, a high-energy proton can be generated by a laser beam incident on a hydrogen droplet by wrapping a hydrogen droplet on the graphene layers of a target for generating a proton. Accordingly, a method for producing a proton-generating target which can generate a high-energy proton without requiring a high-process technology such as a semiconductor processing process for manufacturing an ultra-thin film, Can be provided.

In addition, according to a solution to the problem of the present invention, the ion beam therapy apparatus can project a high-energy proton to a tumor site of a patient by using a proton-generating target having a hydrogen droplet. Thus, an ion beam therapy apparatus capable of treating a patient's tumor at a low cost can be provided.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a target for proton generation used in an ion beam therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining generation of protons in a target for generating protons used in an ion beam therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining that ions are accelerated by a phenomenon occurring in a target for generating a proton used in an ion beam therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining generation of a proton in another target for generating a proton used in the ion beam therapy apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an ion beam treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in different forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are provided so that the disclosure can be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of illustrating embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. As used herein, the terms 'comprises' and / or 'comprising' mean that the stated element, step, operation and / or element does not imply the presence of one or more other elements, steps, operations and / Or additions. In addition, since they are in accordance with the preferred embodiment, the reference numerals presented in the order of description are not necessarily limited to the order. In addition, in this specification, when it is mentioned that a film is on another film or substrate, it means that it may be formed directly on another film or substrate, or a third film may be interposed therebetween.

In addition, the embodiments described herein will be described with reference to cross-sectional views and / or plan views, which are ideal illustrations of the present invention. In the drawings, the thicknesses of the films and regions are exaggerated for an effective description of the technical content. Thus, the shape of the illustrations may be modified by manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the specific forms shown, but also include changes in the shapes that are generated according to the manufacturing process. For example, the etched area shown at right angles may be rounded or may have a shape with a certain curvature. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures have schematic attributes, and the shapes of the regions illustrated in the figures are intended to illustrate specific types of regions of the elements and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing a target for proton generation used in an ion beam therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a support substrate 110 having through-holes 115 is prepared for manufacturing a proton-generating target. The support substrate 110 may be a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate, or a metal substrate. The through hole 115 may have a width gradually widening from one surface of the support substrate 110 to the other surface thereof. That is, the through hole 115 may be in the form of a cone.

A first graphene layer 120a is formed on one side of the supporting substrate 110. [ A solid state hydrogen droplet 130 is provided on the first graphene layer 120a in the region of the through hole 115. [ The solid state hydrogen droplet 130 may have a volume in the range of a few nanometers to several microliters. A second graphene layer 120b is formed on the first graphene layer 120a to surround the solid-state hydrogen droplet 130. [ The first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b may be composed of single to several tens of atomic layers. The atomic layer may be in the form of honeycomb interconnected by hexagons.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the solid state hydrogen droplet 130 surrounded by the first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b may be replaced with a liquid state hydrogen droplet 130a. That is, heat is applied to the portions of the first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b surrounding the solid-state hydrogen droplet 130, and at the same time, the flat liquid-state hydrogen droplets 130a and the surrounding 1 and second graphene layers 120a and 120b can be manufactured. At this time, the volume of the liquid state hydrogen droplet 130a may be in the range of several nanometers to several microliters, which is not significantly different from the volume of the solid state hydrogen droplet 130. [

Because graphene has a high strength and a unique bending characteristic, it can be shaped like a vacuum packaging container, which can be wrapped with any type of droplet. In other words, graphene can bend over the object very easily, like a net catching fish, very easily. In addition, the liquid-state hydrogen droplet 130a surrounded by the first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b can be easily removed because the carbon between the carbon atoms constituting the graphene is so small that no atoms can pass through it. The hydrogen molecules or hydrogen atoms in the first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b can not leak out of the first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b. That is, the liquid state hydrogen droplet 130b surrounded by the first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b is not evaporated.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are conceptual diagrams illustrating the generation of protons accelerated by a phenomenon occurring in a target for generating a proton used in an ion beam therapy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

2 and 3, the hydrogen droplet 130a made of the hydrogen molecules of the proton-generating target 100 generates the protons 210 by the laser beam 145 of high power to be focused . That is, the laser beam 145 having an intensity of 10 ¹⁹ W / cm ² or more passes through the through hole 115 of the supporting substrate 110, and the hydrogen droplet 130a, it changes from a hydrogen atom in the hydrogen droplet 130a to a plasma state separated by protons and electrons by the energy of the laser beam 145. In this process, The electron cloud layer 205 is emitted farther from the proton than the second graphene layers 120a and 120b and the protons form the proton cloud layer 203 in the vicinity of the hydrogen droplet 130a, A strong electric field 207 is generated by the capacitor effect between the cloud layer 203 and the electron cloud layer 205 and the protons of the proton cloud layer 203 are generated by the electric field 207 Accelerated protons 210 can be generated. Accelerated protons 210 may be accelerated to have sufficient energy to be able to be projected into the body's tumor site (see 340 in FIG. 5) outside the patient's body.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram for explaining generation of a proton in another target for generating a proton used in the ion beam therapy apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

4, the proton-generating target 100 further includes metal nano particles 125 provided on the first graphene layer 120a on the side of the through hole 115 of the support substrate 110 can do. The metal nanoparticles may include gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), or aluminum (Al), which are highly electrically conductive materials.

When the laser beam 145 is incident on the metal nanoparticles 125, nanoplasmonics occurs at the edges of the metal nanoparticles 125. The nanoplasmonics phenomenon is caused by free electrons in the metal nanoparticles 125 resonated at the frequency of the laser beam 145 near the edge of the metal nanoparticle 125 having a line width of nanometer (nm) As a result of collectively moving surface waves, a surface plasmon resonance occurs in which the light is trapped at the surface of the metal nanoparticles 125. As a result of such surface plasmon resonance, the intensity of the electromagnetic field at the surface of the metal nanoparticles 125 is amplified. That is, a strong near field 150, which is a very large electromagnetic field of 10 to 10 ⁴ or more, occurs at the edge of the metal nanoparticles 125. This near field 150 is generated by the acceleration movement of the free electrons in the metal nanoparticles 125.

The intensity 200 of this near field 150 is greatest at the point where resonance occurs, i.e., at the edge of the metal nanoparticles 125. The intensity 200 of the near field 150 decreases sharply as the distance from the edge of the metal nanoparticles 125 increases. The intensity 200 of the near field 150 may be several tens to tens of thousands times greater than the intensity of the laser beam 145 incident on the metal nanoparticles 125. That is, the intensity 200 of the near field 150 means that the intensity of the laser beam 145 incident on the noble metal nanoparticles 125 is increased.

Accordingly, when the hydrogen droplet 130a is exposed under the near field 150 having the intensity increased to tens or tens of thousands times that of the laser beam 145 incident on the metal nanoparticles 125, The atoms undergo ionization and become high energy protons 210, which can be projected onto the tumor site (see 340 in FIG. 5) in the body.

5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an ion beam treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the ion beam therapy apparatus includes a laser 140 and a target 100 for generating a proton.

The laser 140 may be for generating accelerated protons 330 from the proton generating target 100 and projecting it to the patient's tumor region 340. The laser 140 may provide a laser beam 145 to the target 100 for generating protons. The laser 140 may be disposed on the other side of the supporting substrate 110 opposite to the first graphene layer 120a of the proton generating target 100. [ The laser beam 145 may be a femtosecond laser beam. The wavelength of the laser beam 145 may range from 800 to 1,000 nanometers. This is because the free electrons in the metal nanoparticles (see 125 in FIG. 4) of the target 100 for generating protons can resonate and accelerate due to the frequency of the laser beam 145.

The proton generating target 100 may generate a laser beam 145 from the laser 140 to generate accelerated protons 330. The proton-generating target 100 includes a support substrate 110 having a through-hole 115 and first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b disposed on one side of the support substrate 110 and surrounding the hydrogen droplet 130a. 120b. The through hole 115 of the supporting substrate 110 can be used as a path of the laser beam 145 to be incident.

When the laser beam 145 is incident on the hydrogen droplet 130a of the proton generating target 100, it is separated from the hydrogen atoms in the hydrogen droplet 130a by the energy of the laser beam 145 into protons and anions And in this process electrons are emitted farther out of the first and second graphene layers 120a and 120b than the protons to form an electron cloud layer (see 205 in FIG. 3), and protons By forming the proton cloud layer (see 203 in Fig. 3) near the hydrogen droplet 130a, a strong electric field (see 207 in Fig. 3) is generated by the capacitor effect between the proton cloud layer and the electron cloud layer, The protons of the proton cloud layer are accelerated toward the electron cloud layer, so that the accelerated protons 330 can be generated. Thus, the proton (s) 330 can be accelerated to have sufficient energy to be projected from the patient's body to the tumor site 340 in the body. That is, the accelerated protons 330 generated from the hydrogen droplet 130a of the proton generating target 100 may have a high energy of several tens to several hundreds of meV. As a result, the accelerated protons 330 generated from the hydrogen droplets 103a of the proton generating target 100 can have the energy adjusted by the intensity of the laser beam 145, It may be stopped at the site 340 and may collide with it.

The accelerated proton 330 may be a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, a computer tomography (CT), a positron emission tomography And may be set and projected at the location of the tumor site 340 obtained from an imaging device such as a device (Positron Emission Tomography: PET), an ultrasonic wave device or the like.

The treatment principle of the ion beam treatment apparatus is such that the laser beam 145 provided from the laser 140 is focused on the hydrogen droplet 130a of the proton generating target 100 and the hydrogen droplet 130a are generated and projected toward the patient's body and the accelerated protons 330 projected into the patient's body are guided by the principle of Bragg peak to the patient's body The accelerated protons 330 may generate reactive oxygen species to disturb the tumor cells of the tumor site 340. In this regard,

That is, accelerated protons 330 collide with tumor site 340 and produce active oxygen species to disturb tumor cells in tumor site 340, thereby inhibiting the growth of tumor cells, or necrosing tumor cells Lt; / RTI > It may be that the accelerated proton 330 disturbing the tumor cells of the tumor site 340 disturbs the DNA double helix of the tumor cell or disturbs the metabolic process in the nucleus of the tumor cell.

The accelerated protons 330 collide with the tumor site 340 in the patient's body and produce reactive oxygen to disturb the tumor cells of the tumor site 340 thereby inhibiting the growth of the tumor cells, It can be necrotizing. Accordingly, the effect of treating the tumor region 340 in the patient's body may be exhibited.

The proton-generating target according to an embodiment of the present invention has a hydrogen droplet surrounded by graphene layers, so that a high-energy proton can be generated by a laser beam incident on a hydrogen droplet. This eliminates the need for a high process technology such as a semiconductor processing process for manufacturing an ultra-thin film, and if the high cost associated therewith is not required

In addition, the target for generating protons produced according to the embodiments of the present invention is formed such that the graphene layers surround the hydrogen droplet, so that a high energy proton can be generated by the laser beam incident on the hydrogen droplet. Accordingly, a method for producing a proton-generating target which can generate a high-energy proton without requiring a high-process technology such as a semiconductor processing process for manufacturing an ultra-thin film, Can be provided.

In addition, the ion beam therapy apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention can project a high-energy proton to a tumor site of a patient by using a proton-generating target having a hydrogen droplet. Thus, an ion beam therapy apparatus capable of treating a patient's tumor at a low cost can be provided.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect.

100: Target for generating protons
110: Support substrate
115: Through hole
120a, 120b: graphene layer
125: metal nanoparticles
130: solid state hydrogen droplet
130a: liquid state hydrogen droplet
140: laser
145: laser beam
150: near-by
200: Strength of near field
203: Proton cloud layer
205: electron cloud layer
207: Electric field
210, 330: (accelerated) protons
340: tumor site

Claims (20)

A support substrate having a through hole;
A first graphene layer provided on one side of the supporting substrate;
A liquid state hydrogen droplet that is provided on the first graphene layer in the region of the through hole and generates a proton by an incident laser beam; And
And a second graphene layer provided on the first graphene layer so as to surround the liquid state hydrogen droplet without evaporation. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the through hole is used as a path of travel of the laser beam. The method according to claim 1,
And the through-hole has a width that gradually increases as the distance from the first graphene layer increases. The method according to claim 1,
And a metal nanoparticle provided on the first graphene layer on the side of the through hole. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the metal nanoparticles include gold, silver, copper, or aluminum. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein said liquid hydrogen droplet has a volume in the range of a few nanometers to a few microliters. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein each of the first and second graphene layers is a single to a tens of atomic layer. Forming a first graphene layer on one surface of a support substrate having a through-hole;
Providing a solid state hydrogen droplet on the first graphene layer in the region of the through hole; And
Forming a second graphene layer on the first graphene layer to surround the solid state hydrogen droplet,
The solid state hydrogen droplet is converted into a liquid state hydrogen droplet,
Wherein the liquid state hydrogen droplet generates protons by an incident laser beam. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the through-hole has a width gradually widened away from the first graphene layer. 9. The method of claim 8,
And forming metal nanoparticles on the first graphene layer on the side of the through hole. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the metal nanoparticles include gold, silver, copper, or aluminum. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the solid state hydrogen droplets have a volume in the range of a few nanometers to a few microliters. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein each of the first and second graphene layers comprises a single to several tens of atomic layers. A target for generating a proton of claim 1; And
And a laser for introducing a laser beam into the hydrogen droplet so as to generate a proton from the hydrogen droplet and project it to a tumor site of the patient. 15. The method of claim 14,
And the laser is disposed on the other side of the support substrate facing the first graphene layer. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the laser beam is a femtosecond laser beam. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the laser beam has a wavelength ranging from 800 to 1,000 nanometers. 15. The method of claim 14,
Further comprising metal nanoparticles provided on the first graphene layer on the through hole side,
Wherein the laser beam incident on the metal nanoparticles forms a surface plasmon resonance and an enhanced near field is formed by the surface plasmon resonance to the intensity of the lasing beam and the proton is removed from the liquid state hydrogen droplet by the near field The emitted ion beam therapy device. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein the intensity of the near field is several tens to several tens of times greater than the intensity of the laser beam. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the metal nanoparticles include gold, silver, copper, or aluminum.

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