A pellet method for the measurement of excitation functions: Cross-sections for 140Ce(p,2n)139Pr and 140Ce(p,3n)138mPr

✍ Scribed by Stefan K Zeisler; Dirk W Becker

• Book ID: 114171625
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 303 KB
• Volume: 160
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0168-583X
• DOI: 10.1016/s0168-583x(99)00588-1

✦ Synopsis

The cross-section measurement of particle-induced nuclear reactions is commonly performed using the stacked foil method. If the target material is fragile or sensitive to air or moisture, this technique is hardly practical.

This communication describes a new method for the simple, reliable and precise determination of cross-sections. A pressed pellet of a stable compound of the desired element is irradiated and then cut into thin slices with a microtome. The radionuclides in each slice are measured and the cross-sections for the nuclear reactions involved are derived by standard equations.

The feasibility of the pellet method was demonstrated by measuring the excitation functions of the 140 Ce(p,2n) 139 Pr and 140 Ce(p,3n) 138m Pr reactions. The calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental yield obtained from thick target irradiations.