Explosively clad uranium targets

Bombardments of thick uranium foils with high-energetic, high-intensity heavy ion beams require water-cooled target systems if all reaction products have to be collected in the uranium layer. It was found that about 0.2 mm thick uranium foils can be explosively clad to 1.5 mm thick copper or 1.0 mm thick nickel backings and used for this purpose. The high-velocity collision process is explained in principle, and the procedure for the preparation of targets is described. Metallographic samples, SEM-images, EDS-spectra, and EDS-line-profiles are investigated to gain information about the intermediate target-to-backing structures. Irradiations of uranium-copper targets with beams of 7.5 MeV/u 136Xe and 238U and intensities of 3 x 1012 and 2.5 x 1011 particles s-1 respectively, are mentioned. (orig.)