While the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is already a major player in the international silicon-irradiation market, the Replacement Research Reactor (RRR) will enable Australia to achieve an even greater share of the world silicon irradiation market. This will provide a multimillion dollar boost to Australias foreign revenue.
Although radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases will continue to be a mainstay of production at ANSTO, irradiation services are emerging as an increasingly significant activity for the Organisation.
Neutron transmutation doping of silicon is an example of a growing service. With ANSTOs current silicon irradiation facilities working at full capacity, the purposebuilt facilities in the RRR will be able to increase overall production by more than four times, and cater for demand for irradiation of larger crystals which currently cannot be met by any other reactors. ANSTO is already one of only a handful of players in the silicon irradiation business, and is set to increase its market share.
Large, single crystals of pure silicon are currently grown overseas and air freighted to ANSTO for irradiation inside the 43-year-old HIFAR research
reactor. Silicon irradiation or Neutron Transmutation Doping involves bombarding the ingots with neutrons for precise periods to give the ingots the
required electrical properties. One in each billion silicon atoms in each ingot is changed to phosphorous.
This uniformly doped silicon is used in sophisticated electrical goods such as video cameras, televisions, fax machines and air conditioning control units, and in computer DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). It is also used in other electrical components such as high power transistors, diodes, thyristors and Silicon Controlled Rectifiers for power transmission.