Estimation of production yield of ^93mMo and other residues from a ⁷Li-induced reaction

The crux of the present work is to analyze the yield of the residues produced in the ⁷Li-induced reaction on ⁸⁹Y target in the low energy range. The experimental yields of ^93mMo, which is a significant product in the energy range considered, and other coproduced radionuclides, such as ^92mNb, ⁸⁹Zr, ^91mY, and ^90mY have been measured within 19-40 MeV energy, and are compared with the compound and pre-compound models in the framework of the statistical reaction model code EMPIRE. The maximum measured yield for ^93mMo is 374 MBq/C at 31.3 MeV in a 3 mg/cm² thick ⁸⁹Y target corresponding to a cross-section of 396.8 ± 38.6 mb from the ⁸⁹Y(⁷Li,3n)^93mMo reaction. The model estimations well reproduce the experimental yields of ⁹³mMo. The possible production of stable isotopes has also been estimated theoretically from the model over the experimental energy range. The reaction could be an alternative route for the production of no-carrier-added ^93mMo radionuclide provided that the radionuclides are chemically separated from the bulk ⁸⁹Y matrix. (author)