Studies related to the production of an isotopically pure 22Na radioactive target

Abstract Studies of the release of the radioactive isotopes 24 Na as well as 22 Na out of heated aluminum foils have been performed in order to produce an implanted isotopically pure 22 Na target. The released atoms are ionized, extracted as an ion beam and directed to a collector foil by a mass spectrometer system (TISOL). Release of the sodium occurs in the order of minutes at temperatures close to the melting point of aluminum. An efficiency of up to 15% was observed for the release, ionization and extraction steps. This radioactive sodium ion beam could be further separated and transported through the TISOL isotope separator with a transmission efficiency of 100%. A target consisting of about 6 μCi of 22 Na has been produced.