Online isotope separation at ISAC with a 10 μA proton driver beam Original Research Article

After initial operation using a 1 μA proton driver beam for radioactive ion beam production, the ISAC facility at TRIUMF has progressed to operating at higher proton beam intensities, in the range of 10 μA p+. ISOL targets designed for 1 μA p+ levels have been successfully operated for extended periods at the higher beam intensities, with only minor modification. Thin niobium foil targets with reduced volume were employed to maximize the release of short lived Rb product nuclides. Production yields were measured by depositing the beam on a movable tape in a collection station with both beta- and gamma-counting capabilities for product identification. The yield per μA p+ of 75Rb (t1/2∼19 s) was observed to increase in a nonlinear manner with increasing proton current on target.