Medical Isotope Production Using A 60 MeV Linear Electron Accelerator

Medical isotopes can be produced by reactors and accelerators [1]. For certain isotopes there could be an advantage to a certain production method. For example; in some cases production via the ( ,n) or ( ,p) reaction has advantages that include high production yield [2] and production in a matrix that simplifies chemical separation of the desired isotope. To maximize isotope production, a high photon flux at the energy corresponding to the peak of the giant dipole resonance is required. This peak is typically between 10-20 MeV [3]. To efficiently produce a high photon flux at this energy range, electron accelerators with energy greater than 40 MeV are used. In order to estimate the production yield and design efficient production geometry, transport codes such as MCNP [4] can be used in conjunction with the proper nuclear photon reaction cross section. In this work we report experiments and calculations for production of Cu [6] produced by the reaction Zn( ,p)Cu. Two geometries were considered; direct electron irradiation of Zn plates and irradiation with bremsstrahlung from a water cooled tantalum target. The purpose of this experiment was to test which of the two geometries is more effective and also to provide data for verification of MCNP calculations.