Activation cross-sections of longer lived products of deuteron induced nuclear reactions on ytterbium up to 40MeV

Abstract

In the frame of a systematic study of the activation cross-sections of the deuteron induced nuclear reactions, excitation functions of the nat Yb(d,xn) 177,173,172mg,171mg,170,169 Lu, nat Yb(d,x) 175,169 Yb and nat Yb(d,x) 173,172,168,167,165 Tm reactions are studied up to 40 MeV, a few of them for the first time. Cross-sections were measured with the activation method using a stacked foil irradiation technique and high resolution γ-ray spectrometry. The experimental data are analyzed and compared to the results of the theoretical model codes ALICE-IPPE, EMPIRE-II and TALYS. From the measured cross-section data integral production yields were calculated. Applications of the new cross-sections are discussed.

Investigation of (d,x) nuclear reactions on natural ytterbium up to 24MeV

“…The measured cross-sections of 169g Lu, presented in Fig. 1, show a consistency with the earlier measurements by Manenti et al [8] and Tarkanyi et al [15]. The TENDL-2013 library [54] shows a systematically larger production cross-section than the experiments, especially at higher energies.…”

“…Fig. 2 shows an overall good agreement of the present results with the earlier measurements [7,8,15] and the TENDL-2013 library [54]. The structure of the measured excitation function properly reflects the contributions of the relevant target isotopes with respect to their abundances ( 170 Yb: 3.05%, 171 Yb: 14.3%, 172 Yb: 21.9%) and reaction threshold energies (Table 1).…”

“…177 Lu routes followed by a complex separation procedure of 177 Lu from the Yb isotopes [14]. On the other hand, the carrier-free 177 Lu is available in the charged-particle irradiations on various targets, though its activity is relatively lower than those in the reactor productions [6][7][8][15][16][17]. However, it may be possible to overcome this deficiency with recent high-power accelerator technologies, which enable large scale and on-site productions of 177 Lu leading to its various practical applications.…”

“…A general survey of the literature reveals that only four earlier investigations [7,8,15,31] were carried out for the production of aforementioned medically and technologically important radionuclides via deuteron irradiations on natural ytterbium targets, but discrepancies are found among the reported data. Therefore, further experimental data are required to reduce the discrepancies and also to complement the data needed to optimize the production of medically important radionuclides.…”

Production of 177Lu for Targeted Radionuclide Therapy: Available Options

“…Some of these reactions were evaluated for the first time [85]. Although promising, substantial R&D and large resources are required for the technological development and assessment owing to the challenges associated with target preparation as well as the sustained operation of accelerators on a reliable and continuous basis.…”