The production of 55Fe with medium-energy protons

Abstract

Thick-target production rates of ⁵⁵Fe produced in the proton bombardment of Mn, Co and Ni were investigated from threshold up to 100 MeV. Impurity levels of the only radiocontaminant of importance, ⁵⁹Fe, were also considered. It is shown that the optimum production rate at energies above ∼ 35 MeV will be achieved by utilizing a tandem Mn/Ni target. Theoretical calculations performed with the computer code ALICE/85/300 were found to be in good agreement with the measured ⁵⁵Fe thick-target production-rate curves.