Method of preparing of irradiation targets for radioisotope production and irradiation target

Abstract

The invention provides a method of preparing irradiation targets for radioisotope production in instrumentation tubes of a nuclear power reactor, the method comprising the steps of: providing a powder of an oxide of a rare earth metal having a purity of greater than 99%; consolidating the powder in a mold to form a round green body having a green density of at least 50 percent of the theoretical density; and sintering the spherical green body in solid phase at a temperature of at least 70 percent of a solidus temperature of the rare earth metal oxide powder and for a time sufficient to form a round sintered rare earth metal oxide target having a sintered density of at least 80 percent of the theoretical density.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.