Method and apparatus for transmutation of atomic nuclei

• US 5,764,715 A
• Filed: 02/20/1996
• Issued: 06/09/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sandia Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sandia Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Maenchen, John Eric, Ruiz, Carlos Leon
• Primary Examiner(s): Wasil, Daniel D.
• Application Number:
  US08/603,772
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: 376/186, 376/190, 376/194, 376/195, 376/196, 376/198, 376/199, 376/201, 250/423 R, 250/492.1, 250/492.2, 250/492.21, 250/492.3
• US Class Current: 376/201
• CPC Class Codes: G21G 1/10 by bombardment with electrically charged particles irradiation devices G21K5/00

Abstract

Insuring a constant supply of radioisotopes is of great importance to medicine and industry. This invention addresses this problem, and helps to solve it by introducing a new apparatus for transmutation of isotopes which enables swift and flexible production on demand.

Claims

1. A process for transmutation of target isotopes, comprising:

a) placing said isotope within a target;

b) attaching the target to a cooling means; and

c) irradiating said target with spatially contiguous pulses of ions at a sustained repetition rate of greater than 1 Hz, average ion beam currents greater than about 10 milliamps and accelerating voltages between 5 keV and 50 MeV.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the sustained repetition rate is greater than 100 Hz.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the target comprises a first layer on the side of the target facing the source means wherein the first layer contains the target isotopes to be transmuted.

4. The process of claim 3 wherein the thickness of the first layer is less than the ion penetration depth.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the target is isotopically enriched in the target isotopes.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the target comprises a refractory compound which comprises the target isotopes.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein said target isotopes are present in a chemical compound having a higher melting point than said isotope in a pure form.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein said target isotopes are present in chemical compounds having a higher thermal conductivity than do said isotopes in a pure form.

9. The process of claim 1 wherein the target isotopes are in gaseous form.

10. The process of claim 1 wherein the target isotopes comprise ⁹⁸ Mo.

11. The process of claim 10 wherein said target comprises Mo which is isotopically enriched in ⁹⁸ Mo.

12. The process of claim 1 wherein said ions are selected from the group consisting of H, D, T, He, C, N, F, O and combinations thereof.

13. The process of claim 1, wherein the isotope is ⁹⁹ Mo, and the ions are deuteron ions.

14. The process of claim 13, wherein the kinetic energy of the deuteron ion pulses is greater than about 5 MeV.

15. The process of claim 13, wherein the sustained repetition rate is greater than about 10 Hz.