Calculating deuteron ranges in neutron-generator targets with allowance for the tritium depth distribution

The tritium in a neutron generator tends to have an uneven depth of distribution, which reduces the yield from T(d, n)4He by comparison with that calculated on the assumption of a uniform distribution. This may be expressed as a dependence of the stoichiometric coefficient k on depth x, which can be approximated in accordance with the target type. There is at present no rigorous theory giving a quantitative description of ion energy losses for initial energies from a few kiloelectron volts upwards. In this connection, an empirical formula has been proposed for deuteron energy losses in metal hydrides. However, this is inapplicable for k → O, which prevents one from using it when k varies with depth. We have used the published data in approximating the dEdx dependence for TiT/sub k/ by computer using various functions. We have obtained an empirical expression for dEdx in keVmg x cm2 that describes the deuteron energy loss satisfactorily for titanium hydride over the wide range k = 0 - infinity