Bern Medical Cyclotron

References

Beam Parameters

Beam Source Particle Type Flux ($cm^{-2} s^{-1}$) Energy Notes
IBA Cyclone 18/18 proton $10^9$ to $10^{12}$ 18MeV 8 exit ports for targets/Beam Transfer Line
IBA Cyclone 18/18 neutrons ~$10^9$ TBD produced through converter targets at the end of the BTL

Facility

The Bern medical cyclotron is a facility which focuses on the production of radiopharmaceuticals as well general scientific research. The former done through SWAN Isotopen AG, whereas the later is done through the Laboratory for High energy Physics (LHEP) at the university of Bern. Scientific research through LHEP include medical applications, beam monitoring and radiation hardness studies.

$H_{2}$ molecules are converted into $H^{-}$ ions through an electrical arc and subsequently accelerated inside the cyclotron up to 18MeV. Before exiting, the electrons are stripped from the $H^{-}$ ions to produce a pure proton beam. A schematic of the facility is shown in the figure below

The protons are directed into a separate bunker (as depicted in the figure below) via a beam transfer line. It is 6.5m long and consists of 1 dipole doublet for horizontal/vertical steering and 2 quadrupole doublets for focusing. An additional neutron shutter (to stop the neutron flux) is included. 2 beam viewers provide a destructive beam current measurement.

Beam Transfer Line photo Beam Transfer Line schematic

Collimators allow for proton beams to have an area of $1cm^2 \times 1 cm^2$ to $3cm^2 \times 3 cm^2$. Setups can be placed in front of the collimator on a motorized linear actuator. Setups can be irradiated in “passive mode”. However, it is also possible to take data during the irradiation via a patch panel (connected to the physics laboratory).