Zr (n, p) reaction using accelerator neutrons generated by the interaction of deuteron beams with carbon. A feasibility experiment was performed at Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center, Tohoku University. A carbon thick target was irradiated by 20-MeV deuterons to produce accelerator neutrons. The thick target neutron yield (TTNY) was measured by using the multiple foils activation method. The foils were made of Al, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Zr, Nb, and Au. The production amount of 92 Y and induced impurities were estimated by simulation with the measured TTNY and the JENDL-4.0 nuclear data.

We have studied Radioisotopes (RIs) production by the accelerator-based neutron method with neutrons generated via the (d,n) reaction on C or Be in the incident energy range less than 50 MeV. The study has been conducted by the two approaches: proposal of new production routes or new RIs with the accelerator-based neutron method and systematic measurements of double-differential thick-target neutron yields (DDTTNYs). In the study, we have proposed effective production methods of 64 Cu for a new PET RI and 92 Y for application of radio immunotherapy. Moreover, the DDTTNYs have been systematically measured by the multiple-foil activation method, and a new unfolding code with artificial neural network was developed for the unfolding process. In the present paper, our research activity and results are reviewed comprehensively to show examples of 64 Cu production and a TTNY measurement of C(d,n) reaction at 12-MeV deuteron.

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A multiple-foil activation method is one of the effective measurement methods of neutron energy distribution. Unfolding processes play an important role in the method. The performance of three unfolding codes, GRAVEL, MAXED, and RooUnfold is compared by using the newly measured data of double-differential thick-target neutron yield (DDTTNY) from the C(d,n) reaction induced by 20-MeV deuteron. The DDTTNYs unfolded by GRAVEL and MAXED show the energy distributions similar to that measured previously by a conventional time of flight (TOF) method, while the DDTTNY unfolded by RooUnfold leads to harder energy distribution than the TOF result.