Chemical investigations of isotope separation on line target units for carbon and nitrogen beams.

Radioactive ion beams (RIBs) are of significant interest in a number of applications. Isotope separation on line (ISOL) facilities provide RIB with high beam intensities and good beam quality. An atom that is produced within the ISOL target will first diffuse out from the target material. During the effusion towards the transfer line and into the ion source the many contacts with the surrounding surfaces may cause unacceptable delays in the transport and, hence, losses of the shorter-lived isotopes. We performed systematic chemical investigations of adsorption in a temperature and concentration regime relevant for ISOL targets and ion source units, with regard to CO_x and NO_x on Al₂O₃ and SiO₂. These materials are potential construction materials for the above-mentioned areas. Off-line and on-line tests have been performed using a gas thermochromatography setup with radioactive tracers. The experiments were performed at the production of tracers for atmospheric chemistry (PROTRAC) facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]