Speaker
Description
In the field of particle accelerators, materials are routinely exposed to extreme environments, including high vacuum, intense particle irradiation, and both ultra-low and ultra-high temperatures. These demanding conditions place stringent requirements on structural and functional materials, particularly in fixed target experiments where high-energy, high-intensity proton beams are used to generate secondary particles. Nanostructured and low-dimensional materials (NLDMs), owing to their exceptional mechanical and thermal properties, offer significant potential to address these challenges. In spallation targetry, NLDMs are of interest for both dense, heavy target materials and low-density beam-intercepting components such as beam windows, where enhanced irradiation resistance, reduced stress accumulation, and improved fatigue behavior promise extended operational lifetimes.
At radioactive ion beam facilities such as CERN-ISOLDE, the isotope separation on-line (ISOL) method relies critically on the performance of thick target materials exposed to high-energy proton beams. Radionuclides are produced via spallation, fission, and fragmentation reactions and subsequently released from the target material by heating to ultra-high temperatures (> 2000 °C) under vacuum conditions. The isotope release, however, remains a key limitation of the ISOL method, as only a small fraction of produced isotopes typically escapes the target matrix. As the release is governed by diffusion and effusion processes, which are strongly influenced by the material’s microstructure, application of NLDMs can improve performance.
In this contribution, we explore the potential of NLDMs as advanced target and structural materials for accelerator applications, with a focus on ISOL-based facilities. We discuss how tailored nanostructures can enhance isotope release properties while simultaneously improving microstructural resilience under extreme irradiation and temperature conditions, thereby offering a pathway toward higher yields, improved reliability, and next-generation target performance.