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Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 61

The evaluated spectroscopic data are presented for known nuclides of mass 61 (Sc,Ti,V,Cr,Mn,Fe,Co,Ni, Cu,Zn,Ga,Ge). Excited-state data are nonexistent for {sup 61}Sc, {sup 61}Ti, {sup 61}V, and {sup 61}Ge. Significant amounts of new data have been added since the previous NDS evaluation of A=61 nuclides (1999Bh04). {sup 61}Sc nuclide is now experimentally known, but without any knowledge of its half-life. The ground state half-lives of {sup 61}Ti and {sup 61}V are now determined. Excited-state data have become available for {sup 61}Cr, {sup 61}Mn and {sup 61}Ga, while for {sup 61}Ge, five excited states were erroneously assigned in the previous evaluation, these have been omitted here. Improved and extensive high-spin excitations are available for {sup 61}Fe, {sup 61}Cu and {sup 61}Zn, including several new superdeformed structures in {sup 61}Cu and {sup 61}Zn. Thermal neutron capture γ-ray data are available in detail from 2004Ra23. The radioactive decay schemes of {sup 61}Sc and {sup 61}Ti are not known, while those for {sup 61}V, {sup 61}Fe and {sup 61}Ge are poorly known. This work benefited from the earlier full evaluations of A=61 published by 1999Bh04, 1983Ek01 and 1975Au05 and the one published in an ‘update’ mode by 1992Zh31. The data and conclusions presented in the current work supersede those in all the previous evaluations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Production of GMP-Compliant Clinical Amounts of Copper-61 Radiopharmaceuticals from Liquid Targets

PET imaging has gained significant momentum in the last few years, especially in the area of oncology, with an increasing focus on metal radioisotopes owing to their versatile chemistry and favourable physical properties. Copper-61 (t1/2 = 3.33 h, 61% β+, Emax = 1.216 MeV) provides unique advantages versus the current clinical standard (i.e., gallium-68) even though, until now, no clinical amounts of 61Cu-based radiopharmaceuticals, other than thiosemicarbazone-based molecules, have been produced. This study aimed to establish a routine production, using a standard medical cyclotron, for a series of widely used somatostatin analogues, currently labelled with gallium-68, that could benefit from the improved characteristics of copper-61. We describe two possible routes to produce the radiopharmaceutical precursor, either from natural zinc or enriched zinc-64 liquid targets and further synthesis of [61Cu]Cu-DOTA-NOC, [61Cu]Cu-DOTA-TOC and [61Cu]Cu-DOTA-TATE with a fully automated GMP-compliant process. The production from enriched targets leads to twice the amount of activity (3.28 ± 0.41 GBq vs. 1.84 ± 0.24 GBq at EOB) and higher radionuclidic purity (99.97% vs. 98.49% at EOB). Our results demonstrate, for the first time, that clinical doses of 61Cu-based radiopharmaceuticals can easily be obtained in centres with a typical biomedical cyclotron optimised to produce 18F-based radiopharmaceuticals.

Fonseca, Alexandra I. (ORCID:000000031924178X)↗

Impact of Host Flexibility on Selectivity in a Supramolecular Host-Catalyzed Enantioselective aza-Darzens Reaction

A highly enantioselective aza-Darzens reaction (up to 99% ee) catalyzed by an enantiopure supramolecular host has been discovered. To understand the role of host structure on reaction outcome, nine new gallium(III)-based enantiopure supramolecular assemblies were prepared via substitution of the external chiral amide. Despite the distal nature of the substitution in these catalysts, changes in enantioselectivity (61 to 90% ee) in the aziridine product were observed. The enantioselectivities were correlated to the flexibility of the supramolecular host scaffold as measured by the kinetics of exchange of a model cationic guest. Finally, this correlation led to the development of a best-in-class catalyst by substituting the gallium(III)-based host with one based on indium(III), which generated the most flexible and selective catalyst.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

TU-G-BRA-02: Can We Extract Lung Function Directly From 4D-CT Without Deformable Image Registration?

Purpose: Dynamic CT ventilation imaging (CT-VI) visualizes air volume changes in the lung by evaluating breathing-induced lung motion using deformable image registration (DIR). Dynamic CT-VI could enable functionally adaptive lung cancer radiation therapy, but its sensitivity to DIR parameters poses challenges for validation. We hypothesize that a direct metric using CT parameters derived from Hounsfield units (HU) alone can provide similar ventilation images without DIR. We compare the accuracy of Direct and Dynamic CT-VIs versus positron emission tomography (PET) images of inhaled {sup 68}Ga-labelled nanoparticles (‘Galligas’). Methods: 25 patients with lung cancer underwent Galligas 4D-PET/CT scans prior to radiation therapy. For each patient we produced three CT- VIs. (i) Our novel method, Direct CT-VI, models blood-gas exchange as the product of air and tissue density at each lung voxel based on time-averaged 4D-CT HU values. Dynamic CT-VIs were produced by evaluating: (ii) regional HU changes, and (iii) regional volume changes between the exhale and inhale 4D-CT phase images using a validated B-spline DIR method. We assessed the accuracy of each CT-VI by computing the voxel-wise Spearman correlation with free-breathing Galligas PET, and also performed a visual analysis. Results: Surprisingly, Direct CT-VIs exhibited better global correlation with Galligas PET than either of the dynamic CT-VIs. The (mean ± SD) correlations were (0.55 ± 0.16), (0.41 ± 0.22) and (0.29 ± 0.27) for Direct, Dynamic HU-based and Dynamic volume-based CT-VIs respectively. Visual comparison of Direct CT-VI to PET demonstrated similarity for emphysema defects and ventral-to-dorsal gradients, but inability to identify decreased ventilation distal to tumor-obstruction. Conclusion: Our data supports the hypothesis that Direct CT-VIs are as accurate as Dynamic CT-VIs in terms of global correlation with Galligas PET. Visual analysis, however, demonstrated that different CT-VI algorithms might have varying accuracy depending on the underlying cause of ventilation abnormality. This research was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australia Fellowship, an Cancer Institute New South Wales Early Career Fellowship 13-ECF-1/15 and NHMRC scholarship APP1038399. No commercial funding was received for this work.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Design and testing of a phantom and instrumented gynecological applicator based on GaN dosimeter for use in high dose rate brachytherapy quality assurance

Purpose: High dose rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) is widely used to treat gynecologic, anal, prostate, head, neck, and breast cancers. These treatments are typically administered in large dose per fraction (>5 Gy) and with high-gradient-dose-distributions, with serious consequences in case of a treatment delivery error (e.g., on dwell position and dwell time). Thus, quality assurance (QA) or quality control (QC) should be systematically and independently implemented. This paper describes the design and testing of a phantom and an instrumented gynecological applicator for pretreatment QA and in vivo QC, respectively. Methods: The authors have designed a HDR-BT phantom equipped with four GaN-based dosimeters. The authors have also instrumented a commercial multichannel HDR-BT gynecological applicator by rigid incorporation of four GaN-based dosimeters in four channels. Specific methods based on the four GaN dosimeter responses are proposed for accurate determination of dwell time and dwell position inside phantom or applicator. The phantom and the applicator have been tested for HDR-BT QA in routine over two different periods: 29 and 15 days, respectively. Measurements in dwell position and time are compared to the treatment plan. A modified position–time gamma index is used to monitor the quality of treatment delivery. Results: The HDR-BT phantom and the instrumented applicator have been used to determine more than 900 dwell positions over the different testing periods. The errors between the planned and measured dwell positions are 0.11 ± 0.70 mm (1σ) and 0.01 ± 0.42 mm (1σ), with the phantom and the applicator, respectively. The dwell time errors for these positions do not exhibit significant bias, with a standard deviation of less than 100 ms for both systems. The modified position–time gamma index sets a threshold, determining whether the treatment run passes or fails. The error detectability of their systems has been evaluated through tests on intentionally introduced error protocols. With a detection threshold of 0.7 mm, the error detection rate on dwell position is 22% at 0.5 mm, 96% at 1 mm, and 100% at and beyond 1.5 mm. On dwell time with a dwell time threshold of 0.1 s, it is 90% at 0.2 s and 100% at and beyond 0.3 s. Conclusions: The proposed HDR-BT phantom and instrumented applicator have been tested and their main characteristics have been evaluated. These systems perform unsupervised measurements and analysis without prior treatment plan information. They allow independent verification of dwell position and time with accuracy of measurements comparable with other similar systems reported in the literature.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Radiological Mapping of Nuclear Facilities

Identifying radiological abnormalities is critical during emergencies at nuclear facilities. This facilitates a necessity for the Emergency Management (EM) to map baseline radiation levels at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The INL uses scintillation detectors to measure radioactivity and gamma spectrums; but, because they are heavy and costly, these detectors can be impractical for mapping radiological areas. This presentation will establish initial radiological heat maps for emergencies and test the Radiacode-103G — a handheld scintillator with GPS and Bluetooth capability with a Gadolinium Aluminum Gallium Garnet (GAGG) crystal.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Mass measurements of 60–63 Ga reduce x-ray burst model uncertainties and extend the evaluated T=1 isobaric multiplet mass equation

We report precision mass measurements of neutron-deficient gallium isotopes approaching the proton drip line. The measurements of 60–63 Ga performed with the TITAN multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer provide a more than threefold improvement over the current literature mass uncertainty of 61 Ga and mark the first direct mass measurement of 60 Ga. The improved precision of the 61 Ga mass has important implications for the astrophysical rp process, as it constrains essential reaction Q values near the 60 Zn waiting point. Based on calculations with a one-zone model, we demonstrate the impact of the improved mass data on prediction uncertainties of x-ray burst models. The first-time measurement of the 60 Ga ground-state mass establishes the proton-bound nature of this nuclide, thus constraining the location of the proton drip line along this isotopic chain. Including the measured mass of 60 Ga further enables us to extend the evaluated T = 1 isobaric multiplet mass equation up to A = 60.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Gallium oxide semiconductor-based large volume ultrafast radiation hard spectroscopic scintillators

We report on the development of the first-ever inorganic radiation-hard moisture-insensitive large volume spectroscopic semiconductor-based scintillator with less than 2 ns decay time and light yields as high as 8000 ph/MeV. Despite extensive research into scintillator materials, the quest for an ideal scintillator combining ultrafast decay times (akin to BaF 2 and Yb-doped scintillators such as Lu 2 O 3 :Yb), high light yields (exceeding 2000 photons per MeV), spectroscopic capabilities, and exceptional radiation hardness remain unfulfilled. In this study, we demonstrate and report for the first time the viability of large-volume (up to 20 mm thickness) gallium oxide (β-Ga 2 O 3 ) semiconductor-based scintillators for applications requiring these properties. These β-Ga 2 O 3 scintillators were grown using the fast turnaround (~2 days) crucible-free optical float zone (FZ) technique. The high light yield and ultrafast decay time of these high-purity n-type semiconductors with free carrier concentration of 6 × 10 17 cm –3 are attributed to native defects, specifically oxygen vacancies (V O ) and gallium–oxygen vacancy pairs (V Ga –V O ), generated during optimized FZ growth. The ultrafast decay, along with high light yield, enables excellent timing resolution and high count rate detection for applications like time-of-flight positron emission tomography, physics experiments, and nuclear safety. The radiation hardness of these devices has been documented in a separate publication.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide as electron transport layer in organic photodetectors

Amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) is demonstrated as an electron transport layer (ETL) in a high-performance organic photodetector (OPD). Dark current in the range of 10 nA/cm{sup 2} at a bias voltage of −2 V and a high photoresponse in the visible spectrum were obtained in inverted OPDs with poly(3-hexylthiophene) and phenyl-C{sub 61}-butyric acid methyl ester active layer. The best results were obtained for the optimum a-IGZO thickness of 7.5 nm with specific detectivity of 3 × 10{sup 12} Jones at the wavelength of 550 nm. The performance of the best OPD devices using a-IGZO was shown to be comparable to state-of-the-art devices based on TiO{sub x} as ETL, with higher rectification achieved in reverse bias. Yield and reproducibility were also enhanced with a-IGZO, facilitating fabrication of large area OPDs. Furthermore, easier integration with IGZO-based readout backplanes can be envisioned, where the channel material can be used as photodiode buffer layer after additional treatment.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Demonstration of Spectral Selectivity of Efficient and Ultrafast GaN/AlGaN-Based Metal–Semiconductor–Metal Ultraviolet Photodiodes

Efficient and ultrafast (aluminum)-gallium-nitride-based metal-semiconductor-metal (Al x )Ga 1–x N ultraviolet photodiodes were implemented to investigate the spectral properties of GaN/AlGaN-based photodetectors. Al composition of the GaN templates were varied from 0-% to 30% to demonstrate the impact of Al mole fraction on the cutoff wavelength of these UV photodiodes. Asymmetric metal contact electrodes were fabricated to optimize the external quantum efficiency without compromising their ultrafast photoresponse. Here, the best performing devices exhibited a peak response of 4 V and an oscilloscope limited temporal pulse width of 61 ps at a 20-V bias with a peak spectral responsivity of 36.5 mA/W at 280 nm.

42 ENGINEERING↗

First demonstration of robust tri-gate β-Ga 2 O 3 nano-membrane field-effect transistors

Nano-membrane tri-gate β-gallium oxide (β-Ga 2 O 3 ) field-effect transistors (FETs) on SiO 2 /Si substrate fabricated via exfoliation have been demonstrated for the first time. By employing electron beam lithography, the minimum-sized features can be defined with the footprint channel width of 50 nm. For high-quality interface between β-Ga 2 O 3 and gate dielectric, atomic layer-deposited 15 nm thick aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) was utilized with tri-methyl-aluminum (TMA) self-cleaning surface treatment. The fabricated devices demonstrate extremely low subthreshold slope (SS) of 61 mV dec –1 , high drain current (I DS ) ON/OFF ratio of 1.5 × 10 9 , and negligible transfer characteristic hysteresis. Furthermore, we also experimentally demonstrated robustness of these devices with current–voltage (I–V) characteristics measured at temperatures up to 400 °C.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗