Around the Laboratories

Cyclotron technology transferred to industry - the Ebco TR30 cyclotron installed for Nordion at the Canadian TRIUMF Laboratory in Vancouver is being upgraded from 500 microamps to 1 milliamp operation. (Photo Ebco)

project for a Tau-Charm Factory (tauCF) on the BEPC site. BEPC's working energy, in the range 3 - 5.6 GeV, covers a high density region of resonances includ­ ing charmonium, its excited states and production thresholds of many particles, such as the tau lepton pairs and charmed particles(mesons and baryons). The present experimental statistics and detection resolution at BEPC/ BES are not up to the task of testing the Standard Model to its limit and searching for new physics. The tauCF would be a logical contin­ uation of BEPC/BES. With a hundred times greater luminosity and tenfold detection accuracy, tauCF could play a decisive role in ongoing physics goals. A SLAC (Stanford) workshop last summer on tauCF in the B-Factory though the primary funding from the work leading to two important initia­ Era underlined the importance of Canadian government is earmarked tives - the establishment of a com­ tauCF, with conclusion that a B- for support of basic research, the mercial radioisotope production factory cannot replace tauCF. Many laboratory has always fostered facility on site and the inauguration of scientists have observed that Beijing applications of the technologies a positron emission tomography is one of the best places for a tau- available, supporting them with funds (PET) program at the University of charm factory. from other sources. British Columbia nearby. At first this "applied programme" In 1979 Atomic Energy of Canada involved simply the provision of Ltd's isotope production division (now particle beams for other scientific, Nordion International Inc.) decided to TRIUMF medical and industrial uses - protons establish a western Canadian facility for the development of neutron- at TRIUMF, to produce the increas­ Technology transfer deficient radioisotopes, neutrons for ingly important neutron-deficient activation analysis, pions for cancer radioisotopes obtainable with accel­ n our occasional series highlighting therapy, and muons for chemistry erator beams, primarily for medical the increasingly important area of and condensed-matter physics. applications. This would complement technology transfer and industrial Twenty five years on, the technolo­ their production of neutron-rich spinoff from high energy physics, this gy transfer process has resulted not isotopes at nuclear reactors in month the CERN Courier focuses on only in a significantly expanded eastern Canada. To complement the TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada's internal applied programme, with TRIUMF cyclotron beams, a 42 MeV major national facility for research in many areas of activity quite inde­ 200 microamp CP42 negative hydro­ subatomic physics, a particularly pendent of the big cyclotron, but also gen ion cyclotron was purchased and illustrative example of the rewards in a number of successful commer­ brought into operation in 1982. and challenges involved. cial operations in the Vancouver Increasing demand soon led to this TRIUMF is based on a 520 MeV area. machine working at full capacity, so negative hydrogen ion cyclotron Radioisotope production has been a in 1987, after an extensive market meson factory operated by a consor­ particularly fruitful source for technol­ search, Nordion decided to enter into tium of Canadian universities. Al­ ogy transfer, the early development a three-way agreement with TRIUMF

CERN Courier, January/February 1995 11 Around the Laboratories

and Ebco Industries, a local company were familiar with each other. Both This has led to the construction of which had played a major part in commercial companies had worked three more small cyclotrons, a TR30/ building the 520 MeV cyclotron, to with TRIUMF over a number of 15 in operation at INER Taiwan since design and construct a 30 MeV 500 years, and the three partners had mid-1993, providing 8-15 MeV microamp negative hydrogen ion built up a significant level of mutual negative deuteron beams in addition cyclotron - the TR30. trust. to negative hydrogen ions, and two This project was pivotal in determin­ Moreover, the importance of trans­ smaller TR13 cyclotrons. The latter ing TRIUMF's approach to major ferring technical knowledge to indus­ provide 100 microamp 8-13 MeV transfers of technology to industry. try was becoming increasingly negative hydrogen ion beams for The choice of a negative hydrogen recognized in Canada. Positron Emission Tomography ion cyclotron stemmed naturally from All levels of government were trying (PET) radioisotope production and the requirement for clean extraction to derive additional economic and are of a special compact design for of two beams simultaneously, varia­ social benefits from the extensive, direct installation in hospitals. ble in energy (15-30 MeV) and yet largely untapped, resource base The prototype is now in operation for intensity, and from TRIUMF's exten­ of science and technology being the University of British Columbia sive experience with such machines. developed in government-funded PET programme while the second A 4-sector magnet was used, with research centres, such as TRIUMF. TR13 is currently being commis­ two 45-degree dees. For good In the present instance this far- sioned in South Korea. maintenance access, negative sighted view led the British Columbia As with any new venture, there hydrogen ions were injected from an provincial government to accelerate have been some routine start-up external source and the 74 MHz the project by lending a significant hurdles and issues for both parties, radiofrequency amplifier was mount­ fraction of the construction costs. but Ebco has now received the ed outside the vault. A very tight schedule was estab­ TRIUMF cyclotron technology and is The project was a bold move for lished, calling for the completion of an internationally recognized manu­ each of the participants: the cyclotron design in early 1989 facturer of cyclotrons. Nordion was not only buying a and initial operation with two 250 Overall the TRIUMF and Ebco entry cyclotron that had yet to be designed microamp external beams by mid- into cyclotron design and manufac­ or tested, but also had to construct 1990. In fact, commissioning began turing has been quite successful. additional buildings and install on schedule and full-intensity beam The commercialization policy facilities around the new machine as was being delivered within three adopted by TRIUMF recognizes two it was being assembled and tested. months, a performance that was major goals for its commercial Ebco was making a policy decision agreed by all three parties to have activities: dissemination of technolo­ to build and market cyclotrons been very successful. The TR30 has gy opportunities to industry for the commercially, and although the now been in highly reliable operation long-term enhancement of Canadian company was quite experienced in for four years and is responsible for industry; and generation of additional the construction of complex electrical the majority of Nordion's almost $15 revenues that can be used to fund and mechanical equipment to cus­ million annual revenue from its research activities peripheral to tomers' orders, this was a new Vancouver operations; royalty pay­ TRIUMF's primary mandate for basic corporate direction. ments to TRIUMF amount to research. TRIUMF was embarking on a whole $370,000 per year. Among the procedures adopted for new role of transferring and commer­ One of the fruits of the TR30 project new commercialization proposals, cializing technology in a major way, was the establishment of a technolo­ the most important is the requirement requiring the development of new gy transfer office to establish policies for a formal review process to evalu­ policies and procedures as the and procedures and to negotiate ate the costs and benefits to project progressed through the licence agreements with commercial TRIUMF. inevitable sequence of demands and partners. One of its first duties was to This review must ascertain whether deadlines. finalize an agreement with Ebco for the prospective commercial associ­ Fortunately, some of the inherent the construction and marketing of ate has a reasonable prospect of challenges of such a venture were further machines, with provision for making an appropriate return on the mitigated, because all the parties consulting assistance from TRIUMF. investment, and whether TRIUMF

12 CERN Courier, January/February 1995 OMDINGS

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CERN Courier, January/February 1995 13 Around the Laboratories

can expect a net benefit, without ways to make technology transfer the relative production of photons negative net financial or personnel work. and charged particles in the phase impacts. transition of hadronic matter to quark- The TR30 experience also taught gluon plasma and its subsequent TRIUMF a number of practical hadronization. lessons in effective collaboration: INDIA The photon multiplicity detector Technology transfer must be Photon multiplicity consists of a matrix of scintillator viewed as a body contact exercise - pads placed in light-tight boxes and knowledge is only transferred effec­ detector mounted behind the lead converter tively through direct meetings be­ plates. The light from the scintillator tween the scientists and the industry he team of Indian scientists from pads is transported to the readout representatives; T Calcutta's Variable Energy system using wavelength shifting Technology transfer is usually a Cyclotron Centre, Bhubaneswar (WLS) fibres. Developing on the much more lengthy process than is Institute of Physics, Panjab (Chandi­ team's earlier experience with a originally anticipated by either party; garh), Rajasthan (Jaipur) and Jammu smaller version for the WA93 experi­ Technology transfer requires in collaboration with GSI Darmstadt ment (September 1991, page 16), committed individuals on both sides have contributed a large and highly several modifications were incorpo­ to ride through the inevitable rough granular preshower photon multiplici­ rated to improve light collection and spots; ty detector (PMD) for the WA98 transport. Use of improved WLS The staff working on both sides experiment at the CERN SPS proton fibres, short WLS pieces to minimize must feel that they are being treated synchrotron. self-absorption, and thermal splicing reasonably and equitably. Commit­ This experiment studies high with long clear fibres were some of ments must be kept, and any special energy collisions of lead ions and will the important changes incorporated. rewards must be agreed to by both measure both charged particle and Tests showed signficantly improved parties, including representatives of photon multiplicity in a large overlap light collection. non-participating staff. region. In recent years, technology transfer The motivation for measuring from government-funded research photon multiplicity in ultra-relativistic The boxed modules of the Photon Multiplicity laboratories to industry has been an heavy ion collisions stems from Detector after final assembly in India before increasingly popular aim of govern­ theoretical predictions of changes in despatch to CERN. ments. TRIUMF now has several years' experience with Ebco Indus­ tries in transferring cyclotron technol­ ogy to the marketplace, and both parties have found that although there are invariably unexpected hurdles, these can be overcome with goodwill and effort on both sides. For TRIUMF it has been a benefi­ cial experience, although not without its challenges. TRIUMF staff have responded well to the new demands and requirements of commercial activity, although for some it has meant learning new processes for maintaining confidentiality and meeting rigid external deadlines. If there has been one key to success, it has been the commitment by senior management on both sides to find

14 CERN Courier, January/February 1995