US3646348A - Neutron-emitting tritiated target having a layer containing tritium and a passive support with an intermediate barrier - Google Patents

Neutron-emitting tritiated target having a layer containing tritium and a passive support with an intermediate barrier Download PDF

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Publication number
US3646348A
US3646348A US842626A US3646348DA US3646348A US 3646348 A US3646348 A US 3646348A US 842626 A US842626 A US 842626A US 3646348D A US3646348D A US 3646348DA US 3646348 A US3646348 A US 3646348A
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United States
Prior art keywords
support
layer
target
metal
tritiated
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US842626A
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English (en)
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Jacques Detaint
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Commissariat a lEnergie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives CEA
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Commissariat a lEnergie Atomique CEA
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05H—PLASMA TECHNIQUE; PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS
    • H05H6/00—Targets for producing nuclear reactions

Definitions

  • targets of this type which generally have a passive nonhydrogenizable support bearing at least one layer of a tritiated metal, a hydride or a mixture of metal hydrides containing substantial proportions of tritium
  • a passive nonhydrogenizable support bearing at least one layer of a tritiated metal, a hydride or a mixture of metal hydrides containing substantial proportions of tritium there is rapid decomposition of the tritiated layer, generally termed the solid phase, due to passage of the tritium into the gaseous phase.
  • This progressive reduction in the tn'tium content caused by the replacement of tritium atoms by deuterium atoms from the incident beam, diffuses the tritium either into the passive sup port for the target or into the accelerator chamber and causes a corresponding, substantial drop in the rate at which neutrons are emitted.
  • the quantity of deuterium thus injected into the target is compensated because an equal quantity of a mixture of deuterium and tritium enters the gaseous phase, so that, in the solid phase, the hydrogen concentration remains constant. Over a period, therefore, this solid phase becomes depleted as regards tritium and enriched as regards deuterium.
  • the object of the invention is to provide a novel construction for neutron-emitting tritiated targets by means of which this disadvantage can be overcome, more particularly by reducing the quantity of deuterium incorporated in the solid phase, so substantially lengthening the life.
  • a neutron-emitting target according to the invention comprising a layer of tritiated metal, a metal hydride or a mixture of hydrides containing a suitable quantity of tritium and a passive support for the layer, is characterized in that the layer is thick enough to retard the deuterons bombarding the target and is applied to the support by way of a thin intermediate barrier, this barrier being formed of a metal in which hydrogen isotopes diffuse slowly and having a thickness such as to prevent the return of the deuterons from the support to the layer at the same time as the passage of the tritium towards the support.
  • the intermediate barrier is made from one of the following metals: gold, silver, copper, aluminum etc., in which hydrogen isotopes diffuse very slowly.
  • the passive support is formed of a metal which has good thermal conductivity, which is hydrogenizable and in which hydrogen isotopes diffuse rapidly, so that the deuterium which has passed through the thin layer and the barrier is retained.
  • the support is made from a nonhydrogenizable metal mounted in a target carrier which holds the support at its periphery and has an annular cooling-water circuit, that face of the support remote from the layer partly defining a cavity in which a vacuum is produced in order to eliminate the deuterium which has traversed the support.
  • the face of the support remote from the layer is cooled by a solution which forms an electrolyte or a chemical reagent and causes the deuterium to be eliminated electrochemically or by means of a chemical reaction. Where the solution is an electrolyte, the support acts as the first electrode and the target carrier as the second electrode for electrolysis of the solution.
  • FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrammatic sectional views of neutron-emitting targets mounted in a target carrier, one for each of the two embodiments.
  • the neutron-emitting tritiated target I has a thin surface layer 2, containing an appropriate quantity of tritium in any form desired.
  • this layer 2 may be in the form of a tritiated metal, especially titanium, yttrium, a rare earth, etc., a hydride or a mixture of hydrides.
  • a particularly advantageous arrangement is that described in our US. Pat. application No. 755,433 filed on Aug. 26, I968.
  • the thickness of the active layer 2 is such that it necessarily causes the monokinetic deutrons in the incident beam bombarding the target to slow down to an energy of a few tens of Kev.
  • the layer 2 is depositrxt on a passive support 3, an intermediate layer 4 being inserted between these two elements in order to form a diffusion barrier.
  • This barrier 4 is made of a material in which the various isotopes of hydrogen (tritium and deuterium) diffuse slowly, e.g., gold, silver, copper, aluminum, etc.
  • the thickness of the barrier is such that the incident deuterons which have traversed the tritiated layer 2 and have already been partly retarded by this layer are retarded only slightly.
  • the barrier must be thick enough to permit suitable diffusion of these deuterons into the support 3, mainly in order to prevent them returning to the layer 2 and also to prevent the tritium in this layer from moving in the direction of the support.
  • the barrier 4 is in the form of a thin film of one of the metals mentioned, with a thickness of the order of I00 pig/cm. to ensure a satisfactory compromise.
  • the passive support 3 two variants are possible, according to whether the deuterons which have passed through the layers 2 and 4 are to be retained in this support or eliminated as they appear through that face of the support remote from the face bearing the tritiated layer 2.
  • the passive support 3 is preferably made from a metal which has good thermal conductivity and is hydrogenizable, such as palladium and in which deuterons diffuse rapidly at the operating temperature of the target.
  • the deuterons or deuterium atoms traversing the layers 2, 4 then enter the support and diffuse through its thickness, causing progressive hydrogenization of it.
  • the composition of the support therefore changes continuously throughout operation of the target, although the time taken to fonn the stable hydride richest in hydrogen may still be very long and at all events much longer than the life of the tritiated layer 2.
  • the rate at which deuterium diffuses through the barrier 4 is reduced to some extent to prevent deformation due to the increase in volume, which might, in particular, detach the thin layers 2, 4.
  • the concentration of deuterium atoms in the support 3 is kept down by continuously eliminating the deuterium through the face 5 of this support, i.e., the face remote from that bearing the barrier 4 and tritiated layer 2.
  • the target I is mounted in a target carrier formed of two adjacent elements 6, 7 which grip the target between them by means of the vicinity of its periphery and define, with the edge of the target, an annular chamber 8 for receiving an appropriate coolant liquid.
  • a sea] 9 ensures fluidtightness between the elements 6, 7.
  • the face 5 of the support 3 partly defines, with a ledge 10 on the element 7, a chamber 11 which is connected by a duct 12 to a vacuum pump (not shown), so that the pressure in this chamber 11 can be lowered, automatically eliminating the deuterium which has passed through the support.
  • the element 7 of the target carrier again cooperates with the face 5 of the support 3 to define a cavity 13. This time this cavity is to receive a liquid solution, more particularly a chemical reagent or an electrolyte such as normal sulphuric acid. If the former, the deuterium absorbed is eliminated by means of a chemical reaction; if the latter, the deuterium is extracted electrochemically due to electrolysis of the solution, with the support 3 acting as the first electrode and a portion 14 of the target carrier opposite it acting as the second electrode.
  • a liquid solution more particularly a chemical reagent or an electrolyte such as normal sulphuric acid.
  • a neutron-emitting target is obtained in which elimination of the deuterium or diffusion of the deuterium into the support substantially restricts the speed at which the tritiated layer is enriched with deuterium at the expense of tritium, so greatly lengthening the total life of the target.
  • a neutron-emitting tritiated target comprising a metal layer selected from the group consisting of tritiated metal, metal hydride and a mixture of hydrides containing tritium, a passive support for the layer, the layer being thick enough to retard the deuterons bombarding the target, a thin inter mediate barrier between the layer and the support for the layer, said barrier being a metal in which hydrogen isotopes diffuse slowly and having a thickness preventing the return of the deuterons from the support to the layer at the same time as the passage of the tritium towards the support, the barrier being selected from the group of metals consisting of gold, silver, copper, and aluminum, the passive support being a metal having good thermal conductivity and hydrogenizable in which hydrogen isotopes diffuse rapidly, the deuterium passing through the thin layer and the barrier being retained by the support,
  • a neutron-emitting tritiated target comprising a metal layer selected from the group consisting of tritiated metal, metal hydride and a mixture of hydrides containing tritium, a passive support for the layer, the layer being thick enough to retard the deuterons bombarding the target, a thin intermediate barrier between the layer and the support, said barrier being a metal in which hydrogen isotopes diffuse slowly and having a thickness preventing the return of the deuterons from the support to the layer at the same time as the passage of the tritium toward the support, said barrier being a metal selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, copper, and aluminum, the support being a nonhydrogenizable metal, a target carrier holding the support at its periphery and an annular cooling water circuit for the carrier, the face of the support remote from the layer defining in part a cavity and means for producing a vacuum in the cavity to eliminate the deuterium which has traversed the support.
  • a neutron-emitting tritiated target as claimed in claim 2 the face of the support remote from the layer being cooled by a solution which forms an electrolyte or a chemical reagent and causes die deuterium to be eliminated electrochemically or by means of a chemical reaction.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Spectroscopy & Molecular Physics (AREA)
  • Particle Accelerators (AREA)
US842626A 1968-08-08 1969-07-17 Neutron-emitting tritiated target having a layer containing tritium and a passive support with an intermediate barrier Expired - Lifetime US3646348A (en)

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FR162318 1968-08-08

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US3646348A true US3646348A (en) 1972-02-29

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US (1) US3646348A (de)
JP (1) JPS4824598B1 (de)
AT (1) AT310881B (de)
BE (1) BE735473A (de)
DE (1) DE1940279B2 (de)
FR (1) FR1584364A (de)
GB (1) GB1205359A (de)
LU (1) LU59235A1 (de)
NL (1) NL6912098A (de)

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3766390A (en) * 1970-08-27 1973-10-16 Nukem Gmbh Target for neutron production in accelerator installations
US3816785A (en) * 1972-06-29 1974-06-11 Nasa Dispensing targets for ion beam particle generators
US3924137A (en) * 1974-08-27 1975-12-02 Nasa Deuterium pass through target
US4298804A (en) * 1978-10-13 1981-11-03 U.S. Philips Corporation Neutron generator having a target
WO1991001037A1 (en) * 1989-07-13 1991-01-24 Shaffer George E Chemo-nuclear fusion methods
WO2008073468A1 (en) * 2006-12-11 2008-06-19 Mallinckrodt Inc. Target bodies and uses thereof in the production of radioisotope materials
US20120307950A1 (en) * 2009-12-16 2012-12-06 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Nuclear fusion target, nuclear fusion device, and nuclear fusion method
WO2019236537A3 (en) * 2018-06-06 2020-02-13 Phoenix Llc Ion beam target assemblies for neutron generation
US11343900B2 (en) * 2019-07-17 2022-05-24 National Technology & Engineering Solutions Of Sandia, Llc Thin-film target for DT neutron production

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3104260C2 (de) * 1981-02-07 1984-03-01 Brown Boveri Reaktor GmbH, 6800 Mannheim Einrichtung zur Speicherung von Wasserstoff als Metallhydrid
DE3444916A1 (de) * 1984-12-08 1986-06-12 Resopal Werk H. Römmler GmbH, 6800 Mannheim Verfahren zum herstellen eines verbundelementes

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3124711A (en) * 1959-05-05 1964-03-10 Reifenschweiler
US3417245A (en) * 1962-10-23 1968-12-17 Kernforschung Gmbh Ges Fuer Neutron generating apparatus

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3124711A (en) * 1959-05-05 1964-03-10 Reifenschweiler
US3417245A (en) * 1962-10-23 1968-12-17 Kernforschung Gmbh Ges Fuer Neutron generating apparatus

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3766390A (en) * 1970-08-27 1973-10-16 Nukem Gmbh Target for neutron production in accelerator installations
US3816785A (en) * 1972-06-29 1974-06-11 Nasa Dispensing targets for ion beam particle generators
US3924137A (en) * 1974-08-27 1975-12-02 Nasa Deuterium pass through target
US4298804A (en) * 1978-10-13 1981-11-03 U.S. Philips Corporation Neutron generator having a target
WO1991001037A1 (en) * 1989-07-13 1991-01-24 Shaffer George E Chemo-nuclear fusion methods
US8524006B2 (en) 2006-12-11 2013-09-03 Mallinckrodt Llc Target bodies and uses thereof in the production of radioisotope materials
WO2008073468A1 (en) * 2006-12-11 2008-06-19 Mallinckrodt Inc. Target bodies and uses thereof in the production of radioisotope materials
US20100046689A1 (en) * 2006-12-11 2010-02-25 William Claude Uhland Target Bodies and Uses Thereof in the Production of Radioisotope Materials
US8170172B2 (en) 2006-12-11 2012-05-01 Mallinckrodt Llc Target bodies and uses thereof in the production of radioisotope materials
US20120307950A1 (en) * 2009-12-16 2012-12-06 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha Nuclear fusion target, nuclear fusion device, and nuclear fusion method
US9363882B2 (en) * 2009-12-16 2016-06-07 Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. Neutron generation target, device, and method
WO2019236537A3 (en) * 2018-06-06 2020-02-13 Phoenix Llc Ion beam target assemblies for neutron generation
US10874013B2 (en) 2018-06-06 2020-12-22 Phoenix Neutron Imaging Llc Ion beam target assemblies for neutron generation
US11612048B2 (en) 2018-06-06 2023-03-21 Phoenix Neutron Imaging Llc Ion beam target assemblies for neutron generation
US11903117B2 (en) 2018-06-06 2024-02-13 Phoenix Neutron Imaging Llc Ion beam target assemblies for neutron generation
US11343900B2 (en) * 2019-07-17 2022-05-24 National Technology & Engineering Solutions Of Sandia, Llc Thin-film target for DT neutron production

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1205359A (en) 1970-09-16
JPS4824598B1 (de) 1973-07-23
FR1584364A (de) 1969-12-19
DE1940279B2 (de) 1972-09-21
NL6912098A (de) 1970-02-10
DE1940279A1 (de) 1970-02-26
AT310881B (de) 1973-10-25
BE735473A (de) 1969-12-16
LU59235A1 (de) 1969-12-22

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