Measurement of the 117mSn, 125mTe, 135mBa and 195mPt half-lives for reactor dosimetry application

Abstract

Nuclear isomers are investigated to perform precise epithermal neutron dosimetry. One key physical property for reactor dosimetry is the precise knowledge of the isomer half-life. In the list of potential candidates, the half-life values available in the literature or in the recommended database for reactor dosimetry for ^117mSn, ^125mTe, ^135mBa and ^195mPt show some discrepancy. New half-life measurements are presented in this work. Those isomers were produced by neutron activation at the JSI TRIGA Reactor from tin, tellurium, barium (all three of them enriched in their parent of interest) and natural platinum dosimeters. Precise half-lives measurements were performed at the MADERE platform using gamma and X-ray spectrometry. Special care has been taken on the uncertainty determinations.