Production of the isotope copper-64 by using natural nickel target with proton energy 17 MeV and beam current 10 µA at cyclotron

Abstract

A calculation method is developed for production of the copper-64 isotope from the 64Ni(p,n)64Cu nuclear reaction. The 64Cu radioisotope used in nuclear medicine is produced by irradiating a natural nickel target with a proton beam produced on a cyclotron. The conditions of the production were dictated by the capabilities of the cyclotron. The energy of the protons was 17 MeV (the beam current is 10 µA). As a result, the activity of copper-64 isotope for various irradiation times were obtained. The depth of proton penetration into the target material was studied.