US3683190A - Tritium and deuterium impregnated targets for neutron generators - Google Patents
Tritium and deuterium impregnated targets for neutron generators Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US3683190A US3683190A US799075A US3683190DA US3683190A US 3683190 A US3683190 A US 3683190A US 799075 A US799075 A US 799075A US 3683190D A US3683190D A US 3683190DA US 3683190 A US3683190 A US 3683190A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- film
- metal
- substrate
- targets
- target
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
- 229910052722 tritium Inorganic materials 0.000 title description 4
- YZCKVEUIGOORGS-OUBTZVSYSA-N Deuterium Chemical compound [2H] YZCKVEUIGOORGS-OUBTZVSYSA-N 0.000 title description 3
- YZCKVEUIGOORGS-NJFSPNSNSA-N Tritium Chemical compound [3H] YZCKVEUIGOORGS-NJFSPNSNSA-N 0.000 title description 3
- 229910052805 deuterium Inorganic materials 0.000 title description 3
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 48
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 48
- PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Nickel Chemical compound [Ni] PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 38
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 29
- 229910052759 nickel Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 18
- PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N gold Chemical compound [Au] PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 229910052737 gold Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 239000010931 gold Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- UYAHIZSMUZPPFV-UHFFFAOYSA-N erbium Chemical compound [Er] UYAHIZSMUZPPFV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 21
- 229910052691 Erbium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 20
- ZOKXTWBITQBERF-UHFFFAOYSA-N Molybdenum Chemical compound [Mo] ZOKXTWBITQBERF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 6
- 229910052750 molybdenum Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 6
- 239000011733 molybdenum Substances 0.000 claims description 6
- 229910052790 beryllium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 5
- ATBAMAFKBVZNFJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N beryllium atom Chemical compound [Be] ATBAMAFKBVZNFJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 5
- VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N Chromium Chemical compound [Cr] VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N Copper Chemical compound [Cu] RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- BQCADISMDOOEFD-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silver Chemical compound [Ag] BQCADISMDOOEFD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910052804 chromium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000011651 chromium Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910017052 cobalt Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000010941 cobalt Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- GUTLYIVDDKVIGB-UHFFFAOYSA-N cobalt atom Chemical compound [Co] GUTLYIVDDKVIGB-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910052802 copper Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000010949 copper Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910052709 silver Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000004332 silver Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910052715 tantalum Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- GUVRBAGPIYLISA-UHFFFAOYSA-N tantalum atom Chemical compound [Ta] GUVRBAGPIYLISA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- WFKWXMTUELFFGS-UHFFFAOYSA-N tungsten Chemical compound [W] WFKWXMTUELFFGS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910052721 tungsten Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000010937 tungsten Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N Hydrogen Chemical compound [H][H] UFHFLCQGNIYNRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 abstract description 13
- 229910052739 hydrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 abstract description 13
- 239000001257 hydrogen Substances 0.000 abstract description 13
- 238000010521 absorption reaction Methods 0.000 abstract description 6
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 abstract description 6
- 150000001875 compounds Chemical class 0.000 abstract description 6
- 229910052761 rare earth metal Inorganic materials 0.000 abstract description 6
- 150000002910 rare earth metals Chemical class 0.000 abstract description 6
- 239000006104 solid solution Substances 0.000 abstract description 6
- 239000012895 dilution Substances 0.000 abstract description 5
- 238000010790 dilution Methods 0.000 abstract description 5
- 239000010408 film Substances 0.000 description 64
- 229910045601 alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 8
- 239000000956 alloy Substances 0.000 description 8
- YXFVVABEGXRONW-UHFFFAOYSA-N Toluene Chemical compound CC1=CC=CC=C1 YXFVVABEGXRONW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 6
- 238000001704 evaporation Methods 0.000 description 5
- 230000008020 evaporation Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000008018 melting Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000002844 melting Methods 0.000 description 3
- 150000002739 metals Chemical class 0.000 description 3
- 229910052706 scandium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- SIXSYDAISGFNSX-UHFFFAOYSA-N scandium atom Chemical compound [Sc] SIXSYDAISGFNSX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 229910052727 yttrium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- VWQVUPCCIRVNHF-UHFFFAOYSA-N yttrium atom Chemical compound [Y] VWQVUPCCIRVNHF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000009713 electroplating Methods 0.000 description 2
- -1 tritium ions Chemical class 0.000 description 2
- 238000004506 ultrasonic cleaning Methods 0.000 description 2
- 229910001371 Er alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910000990 Ni alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 206010037660 Pyrexia Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 230000001464 adherent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000002390 adhesive tape Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005275 alloying Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 231100000086 high toxicity Toxicity 0.000 description 1
- 150000004678 hydrides Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000010884 ion-beam technique Methods 0.000 description 1
- 150000002500 ions Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000843 powder Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004544 sputter deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000010409 thin film Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000007738 vacuum evaporation Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- 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
- the lanthanon elements are defined.
- the film is deposited on a substrate metal with which it does not readily alloy.
- the substrate is so much thicker than the film that alloying would partially or completely inhibit the absorption of hydrogen.
- the choice of substrate metal is thus limited; molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum and chromium are the most suitable.
- a comparatively thick film must be used to compensate for sputtering by incident deuterium or tritium ions accelerated on to the target. It is difficult in practice to obtain an incident ion beam of uniform power density. This leads to a variation of temperature over the target area, and in preventing an excessive target temperature in the hightemperature regions of the target, it is difficult to prevent the cooler regions falling below about 200 C. At these lower temperatures the absorption of ions from the beam can lead to the formation of the trihydride of the film metal, e.g., erbium trihydride; at higher temperatures only the dihydrides are formed.
- the trihydride of the film metal e.g., erbium trihydride
- the trihydrides are extremely brittle compared with the dihydrides, and it is found that although comparatively thin films of 0.00020.0005 cm can be made which remain adherent, long-life films of 0.0025 cm and thicker disintegrate upon partial trihydriding, leaving clean bare areas of substrate.
- a neutron generator target comprises a metal film impregnated with hydrogen isotope, said metal being chosen from the group consisting of yttrium, scandium and the lanthanons, the metal film being suprmrted on a metal substrate, preferably a substrate which does not alloy readily with the metal of the film, wherein there is located between the substrate and the film an intermediate film of a further metal, said further metal being selected to diifuse readily into the metal of the firstmentioned film under solid-state conditions and form a solid solution or compound therewith, and to adhere well to the substrate, and being sufficiently thin not to reduce substantially the absorption of hydrogen by the first-mentioned film by dilution of the first-mentioned film.
- the formation of the solid solution or compound by intermetallic diffusion in the solid state is to be distinguished from the formation of the alloy by melting.
- the further metal is preferably selected so that the alloy formed between it and the metal of the first-mentioned film does not melt at the temperatures used when evaporating the first-mentioned film on to the intermediate film and subsequently loading the former film with hydrogen isotope.
- available data indicates that erbium forms alloys with the following metals, listed in order of decreasing alloy melting points, and therefore decreasing suitability: beryllium, gold, silver, nickel, cobalt, copper. Beryllium has the disadvantages of high toxicity. Other suitable metals may be used.
- the thickness of the intermediate film is made much less than that of the hydrogen-absorbing film in order to limit the dilution of the latter by difiusion when the solid solution or compound is formed, but is sufficient to increase its adhesion to the substrate.
- the intermediate film is preferably evaporated on to the substrate using an evaporation geometry similar to that subsequently used for evaporating the film of hydride-forming metal on to the intermediate film, in order to produce a more uniform thickness ratio of the two films over the target surface.
- the intermediate film it is preferred, despite any buffer action which the latter may provide, to use as the substrate a metal which does not alloy readily with the metal of the first-mentioned film, as in the prior art.
- the present invention also provides a method of producing targets as aforesaid, and a sealed neutron generator comprising a target as aforesaid.
- a drawing is included to further describe the invention.
- the drawing is a diagrammatic elevation in section of the neutron target of the invention wherein 6 represents the metal substrate; 4 represents the intermediate metal film of a further metal and 2 represents the metal film impregnated with hydrogen isotope.
- EXAMPLE 1 A 0.0001 cm thick film of nickel was vacuum evaporated on to a molybdenum substrate and a 0.005 cm thick film of erbium subsequently evaporated on to the nickel.
- the target was loaded to a hydrogen/erbium atomic ratio of 2.8, with practically no loss of erbium film integrity. At this ratio, an erbium film of such thickness without the intermediate nickel film disintegrates to a powder, leaving the substrate bare.
- Ultrasonic cleaning in toluene followed by an adhesivetape strip-test (in which Scotch tape is applied to the loaded erbium film and subsequently pulled off) removed only about 8 percent of the erbium film.
- the intermediate nickel film can also be applied to the substrate by electroplating, but vacuum evaporation is preferred since the use of similar processes for the nickel and erbium films produce a more uniform nickel/erbium thickness ratio. If this ratio is too high over any part of the target area, the excess of nickel appears to encourage the formation of a low meltingpoint nickel/erbium alloy; where such melting is observed to occur, there is a greater tendency for the erbium layer to flake off when loaded with hydrogen. For this reason, and because the quantity of nickel to be evaporated is so much smaller than the quantity of erbium, the evaporation boat may be plated uniformly with the nickel, e.
- Example l by electroplating, instead of loaded with wire or particles in the usual manner (and as in Example l in order to obtain a better defined geometry similar to that for the erbium.
- This plated-boat technique may be used for intermediate films of metals other than nickel.
- the film of erbium, or other hydrideforrning metal, is preferably evaporated (as in Example 1 by the two-stage evaporation technique described in copending application Ser. No. 3 129/68.
- EXAh/IPLE 2 A 0.0001 cm thick gold film was vacuum evaporated on to a molybdenum substrate and a 0.005 cm thick erbium film evaporated on to the gold, using the same techniques as in Example 1. The erbium film was loaded to a hydrogen/erbium atomic ratio of 2.8. There was no visible flaking or crumbling of the erbium film, as would have been the case without the intermediate gold film. The erbium film withstood ultrasonic cleaning in toluene with the loss of only about very small pinholes (about 0.25 mm in diameter).
- the above examples relate only to the use of erbium with a molybdenum substrate, the remaining Ianthanons, yttrium or scandium can be used, and other substrates such as tungsten, tantalum or chromium, a suitable metal being selected for the intermediate film in each case, e.g., one of the six (beryllium, gold, silver, nickel, cobalt, copper) mentioned above.
- a neutron generator target comprising a metal fih-n impregnated with hydrogen isotope, said metal being chosen from the group consisting of yttrium, scandium and the lanthanons, the metal film being supported on a metal substrate which does not alloy readily with the metal of the film, wherein there is located between the substrate and the film an intermediate film of a further metal, said further metal having a thickness much less than that of said metal film impregnated with hydrogen isotope and being selected to diffuse readily into the metal of the first-mentioned film under solidstate conditions and form a solid solution or compound therewith, and to adhere well to the substrate, and being sufiiciently thin not to reduce substantially the absorption of hydrogen by the first-mentioned film by dilution of the first-mentioned film.
- a target as claimed in claim 1 wherein the further metal is selected from the group consisting of beryllium, gold, silver, nickel, cobalt and copper.
- a target as claimed in claim 1 wherein the substrate is selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tantalum, chromium and molybdenum.
Landscapes
- 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)
- Physical Vapour Deposition (AREA)
- Particle Accelerators (AREA)
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8321/68A GB1243262A (en) | 1968-02-20 | 1968-02-20 | Improvements in or relating to neutron targets |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| US3683190A true US3683190A (en) | 1972-08-08 |
Family
ID=9850297
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| US799075A Expired - Lifetime US3683190A (en) | 1968-02-20 | 1969-02-13 | Tritium and deuterium impregnated targets for neutron generators |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US3683190A (de) |
| DE (1) | DE1908144C3 (de) |
| FR (1) | FR2002247A1 (de) |
| GB (1) | GB1243262A (de) |
| NL (1) | NL162241C (de) |
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| JP7741600B1 (ja) | 2024-07-16 | 2025-09-18 | 華硼中子科技（杭州）有限公司 | 中性子源ターゲットの耐水素脆化層目標厚さ取得方法、端末及び媒体 |
| US12504555B2 (en) * | 2022-04-28 | 2025-12-23 | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | Scandium target for a neutron generator for wellbore logging |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB8331911D0 (en) * | 1983-11-30 | 1984-01-04 | Atomic Energy Authority Uk | Ore irradiator |
| AU4528389A (en) * | 1988-11-28 | 1990-06-26 | Peter Teleki | Method of utilizing the (n, gamma) reaction of thermal neutrons |
| CN116002620B (zh) * | 2023-01-13 | 2024-11-29 | 中国核动力研究设计院 | 一种含铒氢化钇材料及其制备方法 |
Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3124711A (en) * | 1959-05-05 | 1964-03-10 | Reifenschweiler | |
| US3320422A (en) * | 1963-10-04 | 1967-05-16 | Nra Inc | Solid tritium and deuterium targets for neutron generator |
-
1968
- 1968-02-20 GB GB8321/68A patent/GB1243262A/en not_active Expired
-
1969
- 1969-02-13 US US799075A patent/US3683190A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1969-02-18 NL NL6902545.A patent/NL162241C/xx not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1969-02-19 DE DE1908144A patent/DE1908144C3/de not_active Expired
- 1969-02-19 FR FR6904145A patent/FR2002247A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3124711A (en) * | 1959-05-05 | 1964-03-10 | Reifenschweiler | |
| US3320422A (en) * | 1963-10-04 | 1967-05-16 | Nra Inc | Solid tritium and deuterium targets for neutron generator |
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| US12504555B2 (en) * | 2022-04-28 | 2025-12-23 | Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | Scandium target for a neutron generator for wellbore logging |
| JP7741600B1 (ja) | 2024-07-16 | 2025-09-18 | 華硼中子科技（杭州）有限公司 | 中性子源ターゲットの耐水素脆化層目標厚さ取得方法、端末及び媒体 |
| JP2026013413A (ja) * | 2024-07-16 | 2026-01-28 | 華硼中子科技（杭州）有限公司 | 中性子源ターゲットの耐水素脆化層目標厚さ取得方法、端末及び媒体 |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| DE1908144B2 (de) | 1977-08-11 |
| NL162241B (nl) | 1979-11-15 |
| NL6902545A (de) | 1969-08-22 |
| GB1243262A (en) | 1971-08-18 |
| FR2002247A1 (de) | 1969-10-17 |
| NL162241C (nl) | 1980-04-15 |
| DE1908144A1 (de) | 1969-09-11 |
| DE1908144C3 (de) | 1978-04-13 |
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