Saturation currents and collection efficiencies in ionization chambers exposed to pulsed megavoltage photon and electron beams are determined assuming a linear relationship between 1/I and 1/V in the extreme near-saturation region, with I and V the chamber current and polarizing voltage, respectively. Careful measurements of chamber current against polarizing voltage in the extreme near-saturation region reveal a current rising faster than that predicted by the linear relationship. This excess current combined with conventional "two-voltage" technique for determination of collection efficiency may result in an up to 0.7% overestimate of the saturation current for standard radiation field sizes of 10X10 cm2. The measured excess current is attributed to charge multiplication in the chamber air volume and to radiation-induced conductivity in the stem of the chamber (stem effect). These effects may be accounted for by an exponential term used in conjunction with Boag's equation for collection efficiency in pulsed beams. The semiempirical model follows the experimental data well and accounts for both the charge recombination as well as for the charge multiplication effects and the chamber stem effect.

The procedure recommended by radiation dosimetry protocols for determining the collection efficiency f of an ionization chamber assumes the predominance of general recombination and ignores other charge loss mechanisms such as initial recombination and ionic diffusion. For continuous radiation beams, general recombination theory predicts that f can be determined from a linear relationship between 1/Q and 1/V2 in the near saturation region (f > 0.7), where Q is the measured charge and V the applied chamber potential. Measurements with Farmer-type cylindrical ionization chambers exposed to cobalt-60 gamma rays reveal that the assumed linear relationship between 1/Q and 1/V2 breaks down in the extreme near-saturation region (f > 0.99) where Q increases with V at a rate exceeding the predictions of general recombination theory. A comprehensive model is developed to describe the saturation characteristics of ionization chambers. The model accounts for dosimetric charge loss (initial recombination, ionic diffusion, and general recombination) and nondosimetric charge multiplication in an ionization chamber, and suggests that charge multiplication plays a significant role under typical chamber operating conditions (300 V) used in radiation dosimetry. Through exclusion of charge multiplication from the measured chamber signal Q, the model predicts the breakdown of the 1/Q vs 1/V2 relationship and shows that the final approach to saturation is governed by initial recombination and ionic diffusion which are characterized by a linear relationship between 1/Q and 1/V. Collection efficiencies calculated with this model differ by up to 0.4% from those determined through a rigorous application of general recombination theory alone.

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