Monte Carlo FLUKA code simulation for study of 68Ga production by direct proton-induced reaction

68Ga is an important radionuclide for positron emission tomography. 68Ga can be produced by the 68Zn(p,n)68Ga reaction in a common biomedical cyclotrons. To facilitate optimization of target design and study activation of materials, Monte Carlo code can be used to simulate the irradiation of the target materials with charged hadrons. In this paper, FLUKA code simulation was employed to prototype a Zn target for the production of 68Ga by proton irradiation. Furthermore, the experimental data were compared with the estimated values for the thick target yield produced in the irradiation time according to FLUKA code. In conclusion, FLUKA code can be used for estimation of the production yield.