Target development for the Munich fission fragment accelerator

The target for the Munich Fission Fragment Accelerator (MAFF) consists of typically 1 g of the fission material 235U in the form of UC2, dispersed homogeneously in a cylindrical graphite matrix, which is encapsulated in a protective Re container. This special type of target is currently under development. The problems related to its manufacture are discussed. To enable diffusion and extraction of the fission products, the target has to be maintained at a temperature of up to 2700 K during operation. Extensive tests are required to study the long-term behaviour of the involved materials at these conditions. For this purpose a resistively heated high vacuum furnace has been set up, which allows high-temperature heat treatment of target samples for a period of up to 1000 h.