Dose measurements at superficial energies required special considerati
ons. First, care must be taken in selecting appropriate phantom materi
als. Materials that are adequate tissue substitutes at megavoltage ene
rgies might not be adequate at superficial energies. The suitability o
f a material can be judged by comparing its mass attenuation and mass
energy absorption coefficients at superficial energies to those of the
tissue of interest. Second, very low energy x-ray and electron contam
inants must be removed from the superficial beam before they reach the
detector. For detectors with a very thin window, this can be achieved
by placing thin film on top of the detector. Failure to properly elim
inate contaminants can result in a large increase in dose measured dir
ectly at the surface.