Isotope separation of 176Lu a precursor to 177Lu medical isotope using broadband lasers

Abstract

A new photoionization scheme accessible by Rhodamine dye lasers is proposed for the isotopeseparation of 176Lu. 5d6s2 2D3/2 (0.0 cm-1) - 573.8130 nm -> 5d6s6p 4Fo3/2 (17427.28 cm-1) - 609.6007 nm -> 6s6p2 4P3/2 (33831.46 cm-1) ---> Autoionization State---> Lu+ Optimum conditions for the isotope separation have been derived and compared with thepreviously reported work. The enrichment of ~ 49% can be obtained with > 12 mg / hourproduction rates even when broadband lasers with bandwidth of 500 MHz employed for the twostep excitation. The simplified system requirements for the photoionization scheme with a highproduction rate is expected reduce the global shortage of 176Lu for medical applications.