Features of the copper-64 isotope production using the MGC-20 cyclotron at St. Petersburg Polytechnical University

Abstract

The article deals with the technology of 64Cu isotope production by cyclotron proton irradiation of nickel foil of natural isotopic composition. In order to produce the 64Cu isotope, three nickel samples were irradiated with 13 MeV protons (beam current was 4 µA) for three hours using the MGC-20 cyclotron at SPbPU. After irradiation the samples were subjected to multistage radiochemical treatment aimed at refining the chemical form suitable for measuring the activities of 64Cu isotope and impurities. According to gamma spectrometric analysis, the 64Cu activity value was 30 MBq. The performed calculations of induced 64Cu isotope activity were based on the initial data and took into account the experimental conditions. A comparison of the experimental data with calculation results showed a good agreement between them.

Keywords

• copper-64 isotope
• cyclotron irradiation
• natural nickel foil
• comparison