AB001. Study of impurity accumulation in a lithium neutron-generating target
Abstract

AB001. Study of impurity accumulation in a lithium neutron-generating target

Marina Bikchurina1,2, Tymofey Bykov1,2, Enkhtsetseg Byambatseren3, Ibrahem Ibrahem2, Dmitrii Kasatov1,2, Iaroslav Kolesnikov1,2, Viktoriia Konovalova2, Alexey Koshkarev1,2, Aleksandr Makarov1,2, Georgii Ostreinov1,2, Sergey Savinov1,2, Evgeniia Sokolova1,2, Igor Sorokin1,2, Ivan Shchudlo1,2, Tatiana Sycheva1,2, Gleb Verkhovod1,2, Sergey Taskaev1,2

1Department of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia; 2Department of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia; 3Department of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk, Russia

Correspondence to: Marina Bikchurina, PhD. Department of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of Siberian Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Akademika Lavrentieva Ave. 11, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia; Department of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia. Email: M.I.Bikchurina@inp.nsk.su.

Background: The prevalence of cancer is steadily increasing. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is considered one of the promising approaches in the treatment of malignant tumors. An accelerator-based epithermal neutron source for the development of BNCT, a promising method for the treatment of malignant tumors, is proposed, created, and is functioning at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics. The neutron source consists of a tandem accelerator of charged particles of an original design, a lithium neutron-generating target for generating neutrons as a result of the 7Li(p,n)7Be reaction, and a beam shaping assembly for forming a therapeutic beam of epithermal neutrons. The purity of the lithium layer affects the yield of neutrons from the target, which makes it important to determine the elemental composition of the target. The urgent task is to study and confirm the generating properties of the lithium target for planning and conducting therapy.

Methods: Lithium is known to actively interact with air. The compounds formed during this interaction reduce the neutron yield from the lithium neutron-generating target. In this work, the accumulation of impurities in a lithium target as a function of exposure to air and the proton fluence on the target was investigated by energy analysis of backscattered protons. The spectrum of backscattered protons was measured with a semiconductor silicon detector (Si charged particle radiation detectors for alpha spectroscopy).

Results: Lithium is sputtered pure, with negligible amounts of carbon and lithium oxide on the surface. Lithium oxide and carbon accumulate on the target surface during prolonged irradiation, but it has little effect on neutron yield. Lithium oxide and carbon are expected to prevent evaporation of lithium from the target surface and protect the lithium from nitrogen penetration. Above the critical power density, copper diffuses into the lithium, reducing the neutron yield.

Conclusions: The results obtained are extremely important for the prolonged generation of a stable neutron flux for BNCT and other applications.

Keywords: Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT); lithium target; neutron source

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: This research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation (No. 19-72-30005).

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tro.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tro-25-ab001/coif). This research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation (No. 19-72-30005). The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments. Ethical approval was not required for this study because it did not involve human or animal participants, nor did it entail the use of personal data.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/tro-25-ab001
Cite this abstract as: Bikchurina M, Bykov T, Byambatseren E, Ibrahem I, Kasatov D, Kolesnikov I, Konovalova V, Koshkarev A, Makarov A, Ostreinov G, Savinov S, Sokolova E, Sorokin I, Shchudlo I, Sycheva T, Verkhovod G, Taskaev S. AB001. Study of impurity accumulation in a lithium neutron-generating target. Ther Radiol Oncol 2025;9:AB001.

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