Development of a Compact X-Band Electron Linac for Production of Mo-99/Tc-99m

In response to the need of alternatives to the exhausted research reactors supplying Mo-99/Tc-99m, we are developing a compact X-band electron linear accelerator (linac). As an initial step, beam dynamics simulations were performed and electron beams of 35 MeV and 9.1 kW were obtained. We expect that sixteen linacs having these beam parameters can cover the demand of Tc-99m radiopharmaceuticals in Japan. On the other hand, we found that the combination of X-band RF and high beam power can give rise to instability of beam loading. We will therefore adjust and optimize the beam power while keeping Mo-99 production efficiency as high as possible.
Proceedings of the 7th Int. Particle Accelerator Conf., IPAC2016, Busan, Korea