Electrical transport through materials is a large and complex field, and in this chapter we cover only a few aspects that are relevant to practical applications. We start with a review of the semi-classical approach that leads to the concepts of drift velocity, mobility and conductivity, from which Matthiessen's Rule is derived. A more general approach based on the Boltzmann transport equation is also discussed. We review the conductivity of metals and include a useful collection of experimental data. The conductivity of nonuniform materials such as alloys, polycrystalline materials, composites and thin films is discussed in the context of Nordheim's rule for alloys, effective medium theories for inhomogeneous materials, and theories of scattering for thin films. We also discuss some interesting aspects of conduction in the presence of a magnetic field (the Hall effect). We present a simplified analysis of charge transport in semiconductors in a high electric field, including a modern avalanche theory (the theory of lucky drift). The properties of low-dimensional systems are briefly reviewed, including the quantum Hall effect.

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The measurement of spatially resolved high doses in microbeam radiation therapy has always been a challenging task, where a combination of high dose response and high spatial resolution (microns) is required for synchrotron radiation peaked around 50 keV. The x-ray induced Sm3+ → Sm2+ valence conversion in Sm3+ doped fluorophosphates glasses has been tested for use in x-ray dosimetry for microbeam radiation therapy. The conversion efficiency depends almost linearly on the dose of irradiation up to ∼5 Gy and saturates at doses exceeding ∼80 Gy. The conversion shows strong correlation with x-ray induced absorbance of the glass which is related to the formation of phosphorus-oxygen hole centers. When irradiated through a microslit collimator, a good spatial resolution and high “peak-to-valley” contrast have been observed by means of confocal photoluminescence microscopy.

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