Cyclotron Produced Radionuclides

The majority of radionuclide are artificially produced in Cyclotron and Reactor. Some short lived radionuclide are available from radionuclide generators in which long lived parents are loaded and decay to short lived daughters.

Cyclotron
Cyclotron is known as particle accelerator to accelerate charged particle to a very high speed. It uses crossed magnetic and electric fields at right angles.

Construction of cyclotron

Construction of cyclotron
It consists of two hollow semicircular Dees so named because of their D-shape. The plane of Dees is the plane of revolution of charged particle, preferably a plane midway in the Dees. The Dees are constructed of conducting material like copper -> in order 1. to function as electrodes for applying alternating electrical potential using electrical source known as electrical oscillator 2. to shield moving charged particle from electric field within the Dees.

Construction of cyclotron
The Dees are kept face to face diametrically opposite at a small distance known as the gap. Electric field operates only in the gap to change speed of the charged particle. The electric field does not accelerate charged particle when it is moving along semicircular path within the Dees as it is shielded from electrical field.

Construction of cyclotron
There is an exit channel at the perimeter of one of Dees which finally guides the accelerated charged particle towards a target. The whole set up of Dees is placed between two poles of a powerful magnetic such that its field is perpendicular to the plane of Dees and hence perpendicular to the plane of motion. This system of Dees is placed in evacuated confinement.

Working

Working principle
The charged particle (say a positively charged proton) is released near mid point of the face of one of the Dees. Being in the electric field from one Dee to another, it is accelerated by the electric force in the direction of electric field.

Working principle
As the particle enters the adjoining Dee, the magnetic force, being perpendicular to it, renders the charged particle to move along a semicircular path within the Dee. By the time, it emerges again in the narrow gap separating the two Dees, the electrical polarity of Dees changes so that the particle is again accelerated again with an increase in speed

Frequency of alternating voltage supply

Numbers of changes in directions are equal to numbers of revolutions. This means that frequency of electric oscillator should be equal to frequency of revolutions.

Cyclotron Produced Radionuclides

These accelerated particles can posses a few keV to BeV of kinetic energy depending on the design of cyclotron. The charged particle are deflected by a deflector through window (w) outside the cyclotron to form an external beam. In a cyclotron charged particles (S) such as protons, deuterons ,alpha particles ,Heparticles are used

Contd
When the targets of stable elements are irradiated by placing them in the external beam of the accelerated particles . The accelerated particles interact with the target nuclei and nuclear reactions take place. In nuclear reaction, the incident particle may leave the nucleus after interaction with a nucleon (i.e , protons and neutrons) , leaving some energy in it , or it may be completely absorbed by the nucleus depending on the energy of the incident particle.

Contd
In either case , a nucleus with excitation energy is formed and the excitation energy is disposed of by emission of nucleons. Depending on the energy deposited by the incident particle several nucleon are emitted randomly from the irradiated target nucleus leading to the formation of different nuclides. As the energy of the irradiated particle is increased , more nucleons are emitted and much wider variety of nuclides is produced.

Medical cyclotrons

 Cyclotron produced radionuclides are usually neutron deficient and therefore decay by emission or electron capture.