Toward large-area targets for “TRAKULA”

TRAKULA (Transmutationsrelevante kernphysikalische Untersuchungen langlebiger Aktinide, i.e., nuclear physical investigations of long-lived actinides with relevance to transmutation) is a joint research project of the German Federal Ministry of Science and Education (BMBF) on nuclear physics investigations with modern scientific, technological and numerical methods. Experiments concerning the transmutation of radioactive waste are a central topic of the project. For this, large-area samples (≥40 cm2) of 235,238U and 239,242Pu compounds are required for the calibration of fission chambers and for fission yield measurements. Another topic within the project requires large-area targets for precise measurements of the half-life, t1/2, of very long-lived α-particle emitters like 144Nd (t1/2≈2×1015 y). Here, we report on electrodeposition tests with Gd and Nd (used as chemical homologs of the actinides), which were performed to find optimal deposition conditions for small-area targets that should be applicable to future large-area targets.The layers were produced by molecular plating. A new stirring technique, ultrasonic stirring, was adopted and found to be suitable for producing large-area targets. Moreover, two different current densities (namely 0.7 and 1.4 mA/cm2) were studied and found appropriate for target preparation. Characterization of the layers with different analytical techniques played a major role in these studies to gain a deeper understanding of the deposition process itself: neutron activation analysis and γ-spectroscopy were used for yield measurements, radiographic imaging for homogeneity studies, scanning electron microscopy for morphology studies, and atomic force microscopy for roughness studies. According to the obtained results, a new electrochemical cell for the production of large-area targets was designed.