Author: Tenishev, A.Eh.
Paper Title Page
THPS083 Two-channel Mode of Mo-99 Production at an Electron Accelerator 3627
 
  • V.L. Uvarov, A.N. Dovbnya, V.V. Mytrochenko, V.I. Nikiforov, S.A. Perezhogin, V.A. Shevchenko, B.I. Shramenko, A.Eh. Tenishev, A.V. Torgovkin
    NSC/KIPT, Kharkov, Ukraine
 
  High-energy bremsstrahlung is the main source of isotopic target activation at an electron accelerator. The photoneutrons concurrently generated are generally considered as a background radiation. At the same time, the natural materials entering into photonuclear targets sometimes comprise a mixture of stable isotopes, the atomic-number difference of which equals 2. Thus, if the desired isotope has an intermediate mass, then at certain conditions, it can be produced on two target nuclei at once, via (γ,n) and (n,γ) channels. As an example, we investigate the possibility of increasing the yield of 99Mo by means of its simultaneous production from 100Mo(γ,n)99Mo and 98Mo(n,γ)99Mo reactions. The method and the device have been developed to provide measurements of the 99Mo yield from the natural molybdenum target as it is placed inside the neutron moderator and without the latter. Experiments were performed at the NSC KIPT accelerator LU-40m at electron energies ranging from 30 to 60 MeV. It is demonstrated that the use of the moderator gives nearly a 30% increase in the 99Mo yield. The experimental results are in good agreement with the computer simulation data.