Laser isotope separation of 223Ra

Abstract

AbstractA three-step photoionization has been theoretically studied for the laser isotope separation of 223Ra through the following photoionization scheme. $$\begin{aligned}7s^{2} {}^{1}S_{0} \left( {0.0 \;{\text{cm}}^{ - 1} } \right)\xrightarrow{{714.3185\;{\text{nm}}}} 7s7p\;{}^{3}P_{1}^{o} \left( {13999.3569\;{\text{cm}}^{ - 1} } \right) \xrightarrow{{784.0270\;{\text{nm}}}}\\7s8s\;{}^{3}S_{1} \left( {26754.02 {\text{cm}}^{ - 1} } \right) \xrightarrow{{558/581\;{\text{nm}}}} {\text{Autoionization State}} \to {\text{Ra}}^{ + }\end{aligned}$$ 7 s 2 1 S 0 0.0 cm - 1 → 714.3185 nm 7 s 7 p 3 P 1 o 13999.3569 cm - 1 → 784.0270 nm 7 s 8 s 3 S 1 26754.02 cm - 1 → 558 / 581 nm Autoionization State → Ra + The effect of bandwidth, peak power density of the excitation and ionization lasers, Doppler broadening of the atomic ensemble, number density of the atoms, and charge exchange collisions on the laser isotope separation process has been studied. The optimum system parameters for the separation of 223Ra through this photoionization scheme have been derived. The effect of unknown parameters on the degree of enrichment has also been discussed. It has been theoretically shown that it is possible to produce 223Ra isotope with 98.5% radio-isotopic purity at a rate of 0.74 μg/h corresponding to the production rate of 435 patient doses per hour. This is the first ever study on the laser isotope separation of Radium isotopes.