HIGH POWER MOLTEN TARGETS FOR RADIOACTIVE ION BEAM PRODUCTION: FROM PARTICLE PHYSICS TO MEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Megawatt-class molten targets, combining high material densities and good heat transfer properties are being considered for neutron spallation sources, neutrino physics facilities and radioactive ion beam production. In order to cope with the limitation of long diffusion times affecting the extraction of short-lived isotopes, a lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) target loop equipped with a diffusion chamber has been proposed and tested offline at IPUL, Latvia, by E. Noah and co-workers. To validate the concept, a molten LBE loop is now in the design phase and will be prototyped and tested on-line at CERN-ISOLDE using a 1.4-GeV proton beam. Primary focus is given to the dimensioning of the diffusion chamber. The molten LBE concept inspired a new alternative route to produce 10¹³ 18Ne/s for the Beta Beams project, where a molten salt loop would be irradiated with 7 mA, 160-MeV proton beam. The concept has been validated by testing a molten fluoride salt static unit at CERN-ISOLDE using a 1.4-GeV proton beam. The investigation of the release and production of neon isotopes allowed the first measurement of the diffusion coefficient of this element in molten fluoride salts.
Proceedings of the 5th Int. Particle Accelerator Conf., IPAC2014, Dresden, Germany