Durability of targets and foils irradiated by intense heavy ion beams in experiments on synthesis of superheavy nuclei

Abstract

Durability of targets and window foils irradiated by intense heavy ion (HI) beams in the experiments on synthesis of superheavy nuclei, which are carried out in Dubna with Gas-Filled Recoil Separator (DGFRS), has been viewed in various ways. High fluxes of HI and heat generations, which are realized within relatively small areas and thicknesses of these elements of DGFRS, are inherent in such experiments. The lifetimes of the targets and window foils are estimated as the result of HI beam actions such as radiation damages, sputtering and evaporation of atoms. The most critical processes determining the durability of the targets and window foils are discussed. The processes of heat transfer due to thermal conductivity, convection and radiation are also considered from the point of view of possible ways of cooling of the elements irradiated by an intense HI beam. Temperatures of the targets and window foils as functions of time are calculated in the conditions of their pulse heating by the beam followed by radiative cooling of their surfaces. Such pulsing mode is realized in the DGFRS operation with the rotation of target and window foils irradiated by a continuous HI beam. Estimates show that radiative cooling in such conditions can be the most effective way of heat removal at the temperature of several hundred degrees. Such temperature can be reached on the surfaces of the target and window foils irradiated by HI beams at the intensity ~1013 s–1.