Alpha-particles induced nuclear reactions on zinc: Experimental and theoretical evaluation

Cross-sections of the nuclear reactions ^natZn(α,x)^67,68&69Ge and ^66,67,68&70Ga were measured from their respective threshold energy up to 20 MeV. The stacked-foil activation technique was used to generate the excitation functions of these reactions utilizing natural titanium for monitoring the irradiation beam, and HpGe detectors for the residual activity measurements. The present results along with the literature experimental data were analyzed to produce recommended excitation functions for the reactions ^NatZn(α,x)^67,68Ge, ^NatZn(α,x)⁶⁶Ga, ⁶⁴Zn(α,pn)⁶⁶Ga, ⁶⁴Zn(α,p)⁶⁷Ga, ^NatZn(α,x)⁶⁸Ga, and ⁶⁶Zn(α,pn)⁶⁸Ga for energies of up to 50 MeV. The generated recommended excitation functions were used to calculate the integral yield of these reactions. It was observed that the highest integral yield was for the reactions ^NatZn(α,x)⁶⁷Ge and ⁶⁸Ga: 850 and 450 MBq/µAh respectively. The alpha-particle activation of zinc could be a promising route for the production of ⁶⁷Ge and ⁶⁸Ga, especially at medium-energy machines.