Excitation function for 178W production in the 181Ta(p,4n)178W reaction over proton energy range 28.8 - 71.8 MeV

178Ta (T1/2=9.3 min) is of a certain interest to nuclear medicine. It can be produced from a generator following the reaction 181Ta(p, 4n)178W→178Ta. The excitation function for this reaction was measured over the proton energy range of 28.8-71.8 MeV. Natural Ta in metallic form was used as target material. The cross sections were measured using a conventional stacked foil technique. Our measurements indicated that the maximum cross section of the excitation function is (495±74) mb at 40 MeV. The error in the absolute cross section data was estimated to be ±15%. The results are compared with previous experimental data and theoretical calculations based on the Hybrid Model of nuclear reactions using the well developed computer code Overlaid Alice. With a natural thick tantalum target and 65 MeV proton beam, yields of 178W are of the order of (1.3±0.20) mCi/μAh. (orig.)