EXCITATION FUNCTIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF POSITRON EMITTING RADIONUCLIDES 82Sr(82Rb) AND 73Se


S.M. Qaim, F. Tárkányi, A. Mushtaq and G. Stöcklin

Institut für Chemie 1 (Nuklearchemie)
Kernforschungsanlage Jülich GmbH
5170 Jülich, Federal Republic of Germany

Excitation functions were measured up to 33 MeV for the formation of 82Sr in 3He-particle induced nuclear reactions on enriched 82Kr, enriched 83Kr and natural Kr. The nuclear reaction of major interest is 82Kr(3He,3n)82Sr. This process is technically feasible for production at a medium-sized cyclotron but is uneconomical due to the long irradiations needed. In connection with the production of 73Se absolute cross sections were determined for 75As(p,3n)73Se, 75As(d,4n)73Se and 70Ge(α,n)73Se processes. The (p,3n) reaction in the energy range of Ep = 40 → 30 MeV is most suitable for production purposes.

KEYWORDS: 82Sr(82Rb) generator, 73Se, positron emission tomography (PET), stacked-foil technique, cross section, excitation function, isotopic enrichment, thick target yield, radioactive impurity