Laser double optical resonance excitation-ionization of Mo with optogalvanic detection

We report on measurements of resonant three-step, two-colour ionization of atomic molybdenum, using a hollow cathode lamp (HCL) with optogalvanic detection. Wavelength scans were made for two specific transitions involved in the ionization pathways under investigation, namely 4d5(6S)5s 7S3 - 4d5(6S)5p 7P4 and 4d5(6S)5p 7P4 - 4d5(6S)6d 7D5.So-called ‘slow’ and ‘fast’ optogalvanic signals were observed for each pathway. Results confirm the HCL as a cost effective spectroscopic investigation tool. In particular its use in the optogalvanic mode of operation allows one to precisely, easily and reliably tune the wavelength of one or more lasers to resonances of interest for experiments in the general domain of atomic vapour laser isotope selection (AVLIS). The measurements are closely related to the Selective Production of Exotic Species (SPES) project at the ISOL facility and were performed in the recently established laser laboratory in Legnaro National Laboratories of INFN.

Early Evaluation of Copper Radioisotope Production at ISOLPHARM

The ISOLPHARM (ISOL technique for radioPHARMaceuticals) project is dedicated to the development of high purity radiopharmaceuticals exploiting the radionuclides producible with the future Selective Production of Exotic Species (SPES) Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) facility at the Legnaro National Laboratories of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN-LNL). At SPES, a proton beam (up to 70 MeV) extracted from a cyclotron will directly impinge a primary target, where the produced isotopes are released thanks to the high working temperatures (2000 °C), ionized, extracted and accelerated, and finally, after mass separation, only the desired nuclei are collected on a secondary target, free from isotopic contaminants that decrease their specific activity. A case study for such project is the evaluation of the feasibility of the ISOL production of 64Cu and 67Cu using a zirconium germanide target, currently under development. The producible activities of 64Cu and 67Cu were calculated by means of the Monte Carlo code FLUKA, whereas dedicated off-line tests with stable beams were performed at LNL to evaluate the capability to ionize and recover isotopically pure copper.