Excitation function of the alpha particle induced nuclear reactions on enriched $^{116}$Cd, production of the theranostic isotope $^{117m}$Sn

TL;DR

This study measures the excitation functions of alpha particle-induced reactions on enriched $^{116}$Cd to produce the theranostic isotope $^{117m}$Sn, providing experimental data and model comparisons for nuclear reaction analysis.

Contribution

It provides new experimental excitation functions for reactions on enriched $^{116}$Cd and compares them with theoretical models and existing data.

Findings

Excitation functions for multiple isotopes were experimentally determined.

The measured data were compared with EMPIRE 3.2 and TALYS 1.8 model calculations.

Yield curves for the nuclear reactions were deduced and analyzed.

Abstract

$^{117m}$Sn is one of the radioisotopes can be beneficially produced through alpha particle irradiation. The targets were prepared by deposition of $^{116}$Cd metal onto high purity 12 $\mu$m thick Cu backing. The average deposited thickness was 21.9 $\mu$m. The beam energy was thoroughly measured by Time of Flight (TOF) methods and proved to be 51.2 MeV. For the experiment the well-established stacked foil technique was used. In addition to the Cd targets, Ti foils were also inserted into the stacks for energy and intensity monitoring. The Cu backings were also used for monitoring and as recoil catcher of the reaction products from the cadmium layer. The activities of the irradiated foils were measured with HPGe detector for gamma-ray spectrometry and cross section values were determined. As a result excitation functions for the formation of $^{117m}$Sn, $^{117m,g}$In, $^{116m}$In, $^{115m}$In and $^{115m,g}$Cd from enriched $^{116}$Cd were deduced and compared with the available literature data and with the results of the nuclear reaction model code calculations EMPIRE 3.2 and TALYS 1.8. Yield curves were also deduced for the measured nuclear reactions and compared with the literature.