Speaker
Description
Over the past decades, ISOLDE has proven to be able to produce a big range of ion beams, spread over more than 70 different elements. However, ion beams of refractory or highly reactive elements are still very difficult to deliver. In particular, no beam of actinium has ever been investigated at ISOLDE. This is in part due to the expected poor release of this element and from how it may interact with the target material. However, thanks to recent developments in the resonant laser ionization scheme of Ac [1] , the production of this difficult beam has become possible. The availability of this beam opens up new opportunities for its production via the ISOL method for fundamental research as well as for medical applications. Indeed, despite 225Ac being a very promising isotope to be used in Targeted-Alpha-Therapy for the treatment of tumors, the production of this element is very difficult [2] . Therefore, the ISOL technique could play an important role in providing this isotope to hospitals, first for clinical research and then eventually for patient care.
In this contribution, I shall report on an experiment focusing on the production of the first Ac beams at ISOLDE (IS637) from A=214 to 231, as well as the beam characterization. Furthermore, Fr and Ra beams between A=205 and 231 were investigated and characterized and those results will be reported.
References
[1] R. Ferrer et al., “Towards high-resolution laser ionization spectroscopy of the heaviest elements in supersonic gas jet expansion,” Nat. Commun., vol. 8, p. 14520, 2017.
[2] A. K. H. Robertson, C. F. Ramogida, P. Schaffer, and V. Radchenko, “Development of Experiences 225 Ac Radiopharmaceuticals: TRIUMF Perspectives and,” Curr. Radiopharm., vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 156–172, 2018.
