Integral cross section measurement of the 19F( γ, n)18F reaction for 12-20 MeV bremsstrahlung photons

Shaima Akbar; M M Musthafa; C V Midhun; Swapna Lilly Cyriac; Resmi K Bharathan; Silpa Ajaykumar; Antony Joseph; K C Jagadeesan

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.111673

Integral cross section measurement of the ¹⁹F( γ, n)¹⁸F reaction for 12-20 MeV bremsstrahlung photons

Appl Radiat Isot. 2025 Jan 18:218:111673. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.111673. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shaima Akbar¹, M M Musthafa², C V Midhun³, Swapna Lilly Cyriac⁴, Resmi K Bharathan⁵, Silpa Ajaykumar⁵, Antony Joseph³, K C Jagadeesan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, University of Calicut, Calicut University P.O, Malappuram, 673635, Kerala, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Physics, University of Calicut, Calicut University P.O, Malappuram, 673635, Kerala, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Department of Physics, University of Calicut, Calicut University P.O, Malappuram, 673635, Kerala, India.
⁴ Department of Radiation Oncology, Caritas Hospital and Institute of Health Sciences, Kottayam, 686630, India.
⁵ Department of Physics, University of Calicut, Calicut University P.O, Malappuram, 673635, Kerala, India; Department of Radiation Oncology, Malabar Cancer Centre, Thalassery, 670103, India.
⁶ Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400085, India.

PMID: 39837207
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2025.111673

Abstract

¹⁸F radioactive isotope is widely used in PET imaging for nuclear medicine. Medical linear accelerators producing high-flux bremsstrahlung beams up to 20 MeV are commonly used in radiation therapy. Hence, the production of ¹⁸F through photon-induced channels will reduce many of the intricacies in transportation and handling. With this objective, the integral cross sections for ¹⁹F(γ, n)¹⁸F reaction, for bremsstrahlung endpoint energies of 12, 14.6, and 20 MeV, are measured employing the activation technique. The experimentally measured cross section was analysed using the nuclear reaction code TALYS 1.96. Parameters for level density models and gamma strength function models are optimized within the framework of a statistical approach.

Keywords: Flourine-18; Integral cross section; PET imaging; Photon-activation.