The 32nd World Conference of the International Nuclear Target Development Society (INTDS2026)

HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM FOILS FOR RADIOACTIVE BEAM PRODUC-TION

2 Sept 2026, 09:40

20m

RIKEN Wako Campus

WEA1

Speaker

Claus Mueller Gatermann (Argonne National Laboratory)

Description

The Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) at the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) was used previously to provide beam of neutron-rich isotopes from spontaneous fission of ²⁵²Cf to experiments. The beams were either used in low energy experiments for mass measurements, beta decay or laser manipulation , or for injection into the ATLAS accelerator after charge breeding.
The system has been upgraded to nuCARIBU, where fission products are now obtained from neutron-induced fission on ²³⁵U. The facility allows for fast, efficient and essentially chemistry-free extraction of fission frag-ments. nuCARIBU, like its predecessor CARIBU, uses a gas catcher and various isotope separation techniques.
A proton cyclotron produces neutrons using a (p,n) reaction on a thick ⁷Li target. The neutrons are moderated before hitting the ²³⁵U target sitting inside the gas catcher. To get the required yield, the minimum require-ments on the uranium foil were 5mg/cm² thickness over 4 inch diameter.
The presentation will cover the production of the uranium foil.