Production of the 178m2Hf isomer using a 1.2 GeV electron accelerator

We analyzed possibilities for the production of 178m2Hf isomers in amounts necessary for the preparation of experimental targets. In our case the 178m2Hf isomers were produced during irradiation of the Ta converter by 1.2 GeV electrons at the Kharkiv linear accelerator many years ago. At such high electron energies the concurrent nuclear reactions are very numerous and, though all short-lived nuclei decay completely, the target is contaminated by the significant amount of long-lived nuclides. This allowed us to study the production of not only the 178m2Hf isomer, but also those of 60Co, 101Rh, 102mRh, 108mAg, 133Ba, 150Eu, 152Eu, 154Eu, 158Tb, 173Lu, 174Lu, 172Hf and 179Ta. The production yields and cross-sections for corresponding photonuclear reactions were estimated and compared with the results of other authors and calculations with the aid of the Rudstam formula.