Proton-induced nuclear reactions in neptunium-237 targets. Production of plutonium tracers in the energy range 15-40 MeV

The increasing interest in using (236)pu and Pu-237 as plutonium tracers ha s stimulated the search for nuclear reactions for the effective production of these radionuclides. The nuclear reactions Np-237(p,2n)Pu-236, Np-237(p, pn)Np-236m (beta-)--> Pu-236 and Np-237(p,n)Pu-237 were investigated in the proton-energy range 15-40 MeV using the K-130 cyclotron of the University of Jyvaskyla and the MGC-20 cyclotron of Abo Akademi University. The cross sections for these reactions were experimentally derived. Thick-target yiel ds based on the cross sections were calculated. The results are discussed a nd compared with data previously obtained from other reactions leading to t he same end products.