Effect of foil material on the apparent yield of the 124Xe(p,x)123I reaction

The effect of the foil material on the recovery of Xe-123 from the irradiation cell used for the measurement of the production of I-123 from the proton reaction on xenon-124 has been studied. The metal used for the foil can have a significant effect on the amount of Xe-123 which can be cryogenically pumped out of the irradiation cell at 30 min after the end of irradiation. Foils made from several metals and alloys were tested. Of these, the effect is most pronounced with ''Havar'' alloy foil where only 58% of the theoretically available activity was recovered. This effect should be considered and tested in the measurement of reaction cross-sections in irradiation cells and targets which have metal foils. (Author)