RIB production with photofission of uranium Original Research Article

The process of uranium photofission with electron beams of 20–50 MeV is considered in terms of the production of fission fragments. It is shown that in the interaction between an electron beam (25 MeV in energy and 20 μA in intensity), produced by a compact accelerator of the microtron type, and a uranium target of about 40 g/cm2 in thickness, an average of 1.5×1011 fission events per second is generated. According to the calculations and test experiments, this corresponds to the yield of 132Sn and 142Xe isotopes of approximately 2×109/s. The results of experiments on the optimal design of the U-target are presented. Problems are discussed connected with the separation of isotopes and isobars for their further acceleration up to energies of 5–18 MeV A. The photofission reactions of a heavy nucleus are compared with other methods of RIB production of medium mass nuclei.