Development of the laser isotope separation method (AVLIS) for obtaining weight amounts of highly enriched Nd-150 isotope

摘要

Results obtained at the first stage of development of the experimental technique for obtaining weight amounts of the highly enriched Nd-150 isotope by laser photoionisation are presented. The vaporiser and the laser are designed, and various methods of irradiation of neodymium vapour and extraction of photoions are tested. The product yield similar to 40 mg h(-1) for the similar to 60 % enrichment and 25 mg h(-1) for the similar to 65 % enrichment is achieved for a vaporiser of length 27 em. The cost of constructing the facility for preparing 50 kg of the Nd-150 isotope, intended for determining the neutrino mass, is estimated. This estimate shows that the cost of production can be lowered by a factor of 5 - 7 compared to the electromagnetic method.