The Stopping Power and Range of Energetic Proton Beams in Nickel Target Relevant for Copper-64 Production

The energy loss distribution of a range of energetic proton beams in nickel (Ni) target has been simulated using the Stopping and Range of Ion in Matter (SRIM 2013) codes. The calculated data of the proton's range would then be used to determine the optimum thickness of Ni target for future production of ⁶⁴Cu radioisotope. In general, the stopping power and range of proton beam in Ni depend strongly on the proton energy and incidence angle. It was also found that for an incidence angle of 0° with respect to the target normal, the best thickness of a Ni target should be between 260 -350 µm for proton energy between 10 - 12 MeV. Furthermore, the thickness should be decreased with increasing incidence angle for optimum ⁶⁴Cu radioactivity yield. The case study on the production of ⁶⁴Cu by a 15.5-MeV proton bombardment indicated that the lower-than-expected yield was most likely due to a thinner Ni target than it should have been. (author)