High power converter target assembly, related facility and method to produce bremsstrahlung for photonuclear reactions
AssigneesUniversitäT Bern, EidgenöSsisches Institut FüR Metrologie Metas
InventorsAndreas TÜRLER, Mehran VAGHEIAN, Matthias LÜTHI
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Abstract
A facility for the production of radionuclides based photonuclear irradiation, comprising: an electron accelerator (1), producing an electron beam (2); a converter target assembly (21) with a converter target (20) that converts the electron beam (2) to Bremsstrahlung photons (15); a production target (17), irradiated by the Bremsstrahlung photons (15) and thereby producing said radionuclides.
Claims25
A facility for the production of radionuclides, in particular diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides, based on the principle of photonuclear irradiation, comprising:
- an electron accelerator, producing an electron beam,
- a converter target assembly with a converter target that converts the electron beam to Bremsstrahlung photons,
- a number of production targets, irradiated by the Bremsstrahlung photons and thereby producing said radionuclides,
- wherein the converter target assembly comprises a sealed housing, the housing
- enclosing a cavity which holds the converter target,
- comprising an entry window with a window disk for the electron beam and an exit window for the Bremsstrahlung photons,
- comprising cooling medium ports, these ports being part of a cooling circuit for establishing a cooling flow through the cavity, thereby cooling the converter target and the window disk,
- wherein
- the converter target comprises a number of rotatable converter disks,
- the electron beam is set off-center with respect to a respective converter disk of the rotatable converter disks,
- and wherein the respective converter disk is designed to rotate during operation of the facility, thereby, in the course of time, spreading the focal spot of the electron beam over an annular area of the respective converter disk.
A converter target assembly for a facility, comprising a sealed housing, the housing
- enclosing a cavity which holds a converter target,
- the housing further comprising an entry window holder with a mounted entry window disk for an electron beam and an exit window for Bremsstrahlung photons,
- the housing further comprising cooling medium ports, the ports being designated to be connected to a cooling circuit for establishing a cooling flow through the cavity, thereby cooling the converter target and the entry window holder with its mounted entry window disk,
- wherein the converter target comprises a number of rotatable converter disks, and wherein a converter disk of the rotatable converter disks is designed to rotate during operation of the facility, thereby, in the course of time, spreading the focal spot of an incoming electron beam over an annular area of the converter disk.
A method of producing radionuclides, comprising:
- directing an electron beam onto a converter target with a number of rotating converter disks, such that, in the course of time, a focal spot of the electron beam is spread over an annular area of a converter disk, thereby producing a beam of Bremsstrahlung photons for irradiation of a production target, and cooling the converter target by a flow of cooling medium, wherein the cooling medium is gaseous Helium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.