Particle beam isotope generator apparatus, system and method
AssigneeAlpha Source LLC
InventorGlenn B. ROSENTHAL
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Abstract
An isotope generation apparatus is disclosed including: an ion beam source of any of the types described herein; an extractor for extracting the ion beam from the confinement region, where the beam includes a portion of multiply ionized ions in a selected final ionization state; a target including a target material; and an accelerator for accelerating the ion beam and directing the ion beam to the target. The ion beam directed to the target transmutes at least a portion of the target material to a radio-isotope in response to a nuclear reaction between ions in the selected final ion state and atoms of the target material.
Claims21
1-40. (canceled)
An isotope generation apparatus comprising:
- an ion beam source, the source comprising:
- a chamber disposed about a longitudinal axis and containing a gas;
- a magnetic confinement system configured to produce a magnetic field in a confinement region within the chamber, wherein the confinement region is disposed about the axis and extends along the axis from a proximal end to a distal end, and wherein the magnetic field comprises:
- a first magnetic mirror located at the proximal end of the confinement region;
- a second magnetic mirror located at the distal end of the confinement region;
- a substantially uniform magnetic field disposed about and directed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, the substantially uniform magnetic field being located between the first and second magnetic mirrors;
- and
- an electron cyclotron resonance driver which produces a time varying electric field which drives the cyclotron motion of electrons located within the confinement region, said driven electrons interacting with the gas to form a plasma, wherein:
- the magnetic confinement system is configured so that during operation the plasma is confined in the confinement region such that a portion of atoms in the plasma experience multiple ionizing interactions with the driven electrons to form multiply ionized ions having a selected final ionization state;
- the second magnetic mirror is configured so that during operation ions leak to generate an ion beam in which at least 50% of the ions in the beam are multiply ionized ions in the selected final ionization state upon exiting the confinement region through the second mirror,
- the apparatus further comprising:
- an extractor for extracting the ion beam from the confinement region;
- a target comprising a target material;
- and
- an accelerator for accelerating the ion beam and directing the ion beam to the target,
- wherein the target is configured to transmute at least a portion of the target material to a radio-isotope as a result of a nuclear reaction between ions in the selected final ion state and atoms of the target material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.