Upgrade of the HIVIPP Deposition Apparatus for Nuclear Physics Thin Targets Manufacturing

The High Energy Vibrational Powder Plating (HIVIPP) technique allows for the preparation of targets starting from refractory metal powders with negligible material losses during the process, thus preserving the expensive isotope-enriched materials. An upgraded HIVIPP apparatus was developed at the Legnaro National Laboratory of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN-LNL), and it is reported in this work. Particular attention was paid to the design of the sample holder, the automation of the power supply, and the control of the process, all with the aim of obtaining a versatile and reliable apparatus. Several tests have been carried out and the related results are reported proving the flexibility of the apparatus and the process reproducibility. The main result is a 'ready to use' technology at INFN-LNL for the preparation of isotopically enriched refractory metal targets that cannot be manufactured using standard techniques

Excitation function shape and neutron spectrum of the Li 7 ( p , n ) Be 7 reaction near threshold

The forward-emitted low energy tail of the neutron spectrum generated by the $^{7}\mathrm{Li}(p,n)^{7}\mathrm{Be}$ reaction on a thick target at a proton energy of 1893.6 keV was measured by time-of-flight spectroscopy. The measurement was performed at BELINA (Beam Line for Nuclear Astrophysics) of the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro. Using the reaction kinematics and the proton on lithium stopping power the shape of the excitation function is calculated from the measured neutron spectrum. Good agreement with two reported measurements was found. Our data, along with the previous measurements, are well reproduced by the Breit-Wigner single-resonance formula for $s$-wave particles. The differential yield of the reaction is calculated and the widely used neutron spectrum at a proton energy of 1912 keV was reproduced. Possible causes regarding part of the 6.5% discrepancy between the ^{197}\mathrm{Au}(n,\ensuremath{\gamma}) cross section measured at this energy by Ratynski and Kappeler [Phys. Rev. C 37, 595 (1988)] and the one obtained using the Evaluated Nuclear Data File version B-VII.1 are given

Exploring the interplay of landscape changes and ecosystem services maximization in man-managed lagoon areas

Coastal lagoons have long been subject to continuous changes caused by mutual interactions with human activities. Monitoring such changes becomes critical, particularly when modifications in landscape and land cover classes can affect their capacity to ensure Ecosystem Services (ESs). In the Venice lagoon, some confined areas called “valli da pesca” supply provisioning ESs, namely aquaculture and hunting, but also other ESs important for the entire lagoon, such as regulating and cultural ones. Being heavily modified ecosystems under human control, valli da pesca underwent considerable morphological evolution depending on the maximized ES and the applied management. Using remote sensing data from different sources, we reconstructed changes in land cover and landscape elements in valli da pesca over the last century. By calculating landscape indicators related to land, saltmarshes, and water, we found that landscape features were initially similar for all the valli da pesca. Then, a process began between 1975 and 1987, in which management devoted to maximizing different ESs shaped the land cover in specific patterns. This study confirms the importance of these areas in the context of the entire lagoon and suggests the need to monitor their land cover changes to avoid the depletion of their capacity to conserve landscape elements and the related ESs. In this task, remote sensing data represents an important source of historical data that can deepen the knowledge about human-Nature interactions, capable of tracing the landscape evolution and the dynamics in the ESs supply as responses to human interventions

Upgrade of the HIVIPP Deposition Apparatus for Nuclear Physics Thin Targets Manufacturing

The High Energy Vibrational Powder Plating (HIVIPP) technique allows for the preparation of targets starting from refractory metal powders with negligible material losses during the process, thus preserving the expensive isotope-enriched materials. An upgraded HIVIPP apparatus was developed at the Legnaro National Laboratory of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN-LNL), and it is reported in this work. Particular attention was paid to the design of the sample holder, the automation of the power supply, and the control of the process, all with the aim of obtaining a versatile and reliable apparatus. Several tests have been carried out and the related results are reported proving the flexibility of the apparatus and the process reproducibility. The main result is a ‘ready to use’ technology at INFN-LNL for the preparation of isotopically enriched refractory metal targets that cannot be manufactured using standard techniques

HIVIPP deposition and characterization of isotopically enriched 48Ti targets for nuclear cross-section measurements

Abstract Thin targets of isotopically enriched 48Ti metallic powder on Al foil substrates for the nuclear cross-section measurements were manufactured using the HIgh energy VIbrational Powders Plating method in vacuum. The target areal thickness of 0.2–2 mg/cm2 was achieved as measured by weighing as well as by Elastic Backscattering Spectroscopy (EBS) analysis. The quality of the targets, in particular the deposit uniformity, was evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) assisted by the Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The microstructure of the HIVIPP deposited targets was analyzed for the first time. SEM analysis showed that the coating microstructure was strongly related to the original powder microstructure. It was also observed that the coating was not a powder monolayer. The smaller powder particles, which were the first to move in the electric field, remained attached to the substrate and created the first layers of the deposit. Further layers of bigger particles were then attached to the first layer. The information about the deposit microstructure was utilized to model the EBS analysis results. The subset of the prepared 48Ti enriched targets was successfully used for the nuclear cross-section measurement campaign up to 40 MeV using the proton beam (115 nA) available at the C70 cyclotron in ARRONAX (Nantes, France)

Laramed: A laboratory for radioisotopes of medical interest

The widespread availability of novel radioactive isotopes showing nuclear characteristics suitable for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in nuclear medicine (NM) has experienced a great development in the last years, particularly as a result of key advancements of cyclotron-based radioisotope production technologies. At Legnaro National Laboratories of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (LNL-INFN), Italy, a 70-MeV high current cyclotron has been recently installed. This cyclotron will be dedicated not only to pursuing fundamental nuclear physics studies, but also to research related to other scientific fields with an emphasis on medical applications. LARAMED project was established a few years ago at LNL-INFN as a new research line aimed at exploiting the scientific power of nuclear physics for developing innovative applications to medicine. The goal of this program is to elect LNL as a worldwide recognized hub for the development of production methods of novel medical radionuclides, still unavailable for the scientific and clinical community. Although the research facility is yet to become fully operative, the LARAMED team has already started working on the cyclotron production of conventional medical radionuclides, such as Tc-99m, and on emerging radionuclides of high potential medical interest, such as Cu-67, Sc-47, and Mn-52