This work is divided into two independent parts. The topic of the first part is the development of Compton diodes for beam-loss diagnosis at the S-DALINAC. The second part deals with investigations and numerical modelling of the laser-tissue interaction at the Darmstadt free-electron laser. Since the S-DALINAC uses the principle of beam recirculation, almost all parts of the accelerator can be hit by high energetic electrons. This leads to an activation of beam transport components or damages electronic components via the generated bremsstrahlung. Local bremsstrahlung cones caused for instance a breakdown of the electron gun during past beamtimes. Since the construction of a sufficient radiation shielding was not possible in all areas, it was necessary to monitor the radiation level in the accelerator vault. For this reason, so called Compton diodes were developed as bremsstrahlung detectors. A simulation of the signal generation in a Compton diode with the numerical code FLUKA could already be used in the design phase for the optimization of the detector geometry. Taking into account the specifications for a beam loss diagnosis, compact detectors made of aluminum, PMMA (plexiglas) and lead with the dimensions 162×70×70 mm^3 and an integrated signal converter circuit were built. The properties of the Compton diode were determined in test measurements at the S-DALINAC. For a given endpoint energy, the signal is directly proportional to the detected bremsstrahlung flux. The measured detector sensitivities are 45.4 nA per (Gy s^(-1)) at an energy of E0 = 9.4 MeV of the electrons converted into bremsstrahlung and 3.7 nA per (Gy s^(-1)) at E0 = 72.0 MeV. The signal strength under side irradiation is only 60% compared to a front irradiation. The measured dependence of the signal strength on the electron energy shows an increase by a factor of 7 between 6.0 MeV and 9.4 MeV. At several locations of the accelerator, electron beam losses in the order of 100 pA can be detected under favourible circumstances. A comparison of the measured signals with the simulations showed an agreement within 33%. In the bremsstrahlung-diagnosis system at the S-DALINAC, the signals of up to 8 Compton diodes are transferred via BNC cables out of the accelerator vault, converted into a digital signal with a multiplexer-ADC unit and displayed on a PC in the control room of the accelerator. The universal usability was also demonstrated in measurements at the TESLA test facility (TTF) at DESY and at the Elektronenbeschleuniger hoher Brillanz und geringer Emittanz (ELBE) at Forschungszentrum Rossendorf. The infrared beam of the Darmstadt FEL at a wavelength of 7.0 µm was used for the ablation of bovine cornea, bovine liver and human cartilage. With macropulse durations between 2 and 8 ms, a macropulse repetition rate of 31 Hz, average laser powers between 7 and 60 mW and a focus diameter of 140 µm, ablation cavities with a depth between 39 and 600 µm were generated. A microscopic analysis clearly revealed signs of a thermal interaction process. The ablation depths could be understood from an analytical model. In order to investigate the influence of a higher and lower absorption coefficient than in the case of the FEL radiation, additional ablations with an Er:YAG laser (lambda = 2.94 µm) and a Ti:Sa laser (lambda = 790 nm) were performed. The Er:YAG ablations show a well defined geometry and a thermal damage zone reduced by a factor of three compared with the FEL ablations. The Ti:Sa laser creates very irregular cavities with a large thermal damage zone. A three-dimensional numerical simulation of light and heat transport during the ablation showed that the light distribution in the case of strong absorption can be well approximated by the Lambert-Beer law. Also in the case of weak absorption and strong scattering like for the Ti:Sa laser, good agreement with the experimental results was found for the distribution of the heat deposition and the diffuse backscattering. | English |