With expanding application of positron emission tomography (PET) in diagnostic nuclear medicine, there is need for low-cost, turnkey systems for PET isotope production. The applicant organization has proposed to develop the """"""""Nested High Voltage Generator"""""""" (NHVGTM), a new- generation, energy-efficient particle accelerator, that would generate 4.4 MeV proton and deuteron beams with 1 mA current output. The capital cost, operating cost, and size of the NHVG are projected to be ten to twenty percent of that for biomedical cyclotrons currently used for PET isotope production. To bring the NHVG to market as a PET isotope production instrument, targets compatible with its high beam current and low particle energy must be engineered. Although the basic nuclear physics of PET isotope production with low energy proton/deuteron beams is proven in the research literature, design parameters for high-beam-current targets are poorly understood. In Phase I, the applicants have proposed to address feasibility by testing target designs and measuring isotope production yields from NHVG irradiation.
