Manufacture, characterization and proton irradiation effects of 12C and 13C thick targets.

Alternative sources of neutron production other than nuclear fission reactions are important priorities in medical and nuclear applications due to costs, safety and ease of operation. In this work, 12 C and 13 C thick targets for neutron production through 12 C(d,n) 13 N and 13 C(d,n) 14 N , respectively, have been manufactured and characterized by different techniques. In order to evaluate the irradiation effects on these materials, the targets were irradiated with 150 keV proton beam. A complete characterization of these samples was performed using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The results of these studies allowed us to establish that even though the irradiated samples present microstructural and chemical structure changes on its surface, the 12 C and 13 C thick targets were stable and would maintain their performance after proton irradiation at a fluence of 2.0 × 10 18 ions/cm 2 and 3.7 × 10 18 ions/cm 2 , respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]