US Patent 10236090 Synthesizing radioisotopes using an energy recovery linac

An apparatus and method for the production of radioisotopes utilizing an energy recovery linac. The ERL system is composed of an electron beam source, multiple superconducting radio frequency cavities operating at 4.5 K, a thin radiator, a target material, and a beam dump. The accompanying method discloses the use of the ERL system to generate desired radioisotopes via target interaction with bremsstrahlung photons while allowing recovery of a substantial portion of the electron beam energy before the beam is extracted to the beam dump.