Experimental study of the 165Ho(d, 2n) and 165Ho(d, p) nuclear reactions up to 20 MeV for production of the therapeutic radioisotopes 165Er and 166gHo

The radioisotope 165Er (T1/2 = 10.36 h) is a candidate for Auger-electron therapy. The β−-emitting 166gHo (T1/2 = 26.83 h) is now being explored for various therapeutic applications. In the frame of our systematic study of charged particle production routes of therapeutic radionuclides the excitation functions of the 165Ho(d, 2n)165Er and 165Ho(d, p)166gHo reactions were measured up to 20 MeV by using a stacked foil irradiation technique and X/γ-ray spectroscopy. The excitation function of the 165Ho(d, 2n)165Er reaction was measured for the first time while for the 165Ho(d, p)166gHo reaction only a single dataset of earlier measured cross-sections was found. The measured excitation functions were compared to the results of different nuclear reaction model codes. The calculated thick target yield of the 165Ho(d, 2n) reaction is significantly higher over the optimal energy range than that for the 165Ho(p, n) reaction investigated earlier by us. The integral yield of the 165Ho(d, p)166gHo reaction is rather low compared to the established 165Ho(n, γ)166Ho reaction in a nuclear reactor.