Effects of Neutron Depression on the Specific Activity of Ni-63

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the effects of neutron flux depression on the specific activity Ni-63. Ultimately, the goal of this experiment is to verify a method for a creating a higher yield of any desired nuclide produced in a reactor while simultaneously requiring less target material. This experiment was implemented by loading two stacks of highly enriched Ni-62 foils into the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and analyzing variations in specific activity in the foils based on their position. In order to ensure accurate results, the samples were chemically treated to remove all radioimpurities via a series of ion exchange columns. The experimental results were also compared to simulated results obtained by an analytical program called IsoChain and the Monte Carlo based simulation program, MCNP.