High efficiency cyclotron trap assisted positron moderator

Abstract

We report on the realisation of a cyclotron trap assisted positron tungsten moderator for the conversion of positrons with a broad keV–few MeV energy spectrum to a mono-energetic eV beam with an efficiency of 1.8(2)% defined as the ratio of the slow positrons divided by the β+ activity of the radioactive source. This is an improvement of almost two orders of magnitude compared to the state of the art of tungsten moderators. The simulation validated with this measurement suggests that, using an optimised setup, even higher efficiencies are achievable. A novel method for the production of48 V high-activity thin foil positron sources based on a solid target station at a medical cyclotron was developed. This is an improvement of more than one order of magnitude with respect to standard methods.