Activation cross-sections of alpha induced nuclear reactions on iron up to 40 MeV F. T ark anyi a, * , F. Ditr  oi a , S. Tak acs a , F. Szelecs enyi a , A. Hermanne b , M. Sonck b a Institute of Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 51, Debrecen H-4001, Hungary b Cyclotron Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels B-1090, Belgium Received 6 February 2003 Abstract To obtain reliable activation cross-section data on iron for different applications, excitation function of alpha in- duced nuclear reactions were re-measured and critically compared with earlier reported experimental data. The agreement for all investigated reactions ( nat Fe(a,x) 56 Mn, 55;56;57;58;61 Co, 56;57 Ni) is good. The status of the experimental database is satisfactory and allows preparation of recommended values for the most important reactions. Ó 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 25.55.)e; 25.60.Dz; 27.40.+z39; 29.25.Rm Keywords: Iron; Excitation function; Cyclotron; Cobalt isotopes 1. Introduction Integral data on cross-sections of alpha induced reaction on iron are important for many reasons. Systematic study of production cross-sections and isomeric ratios is useful for investigation of nuclear structure and of the basic mechanisms of nuclear reactions [1,2]. Modern theories of the synthesis of elements in the stars, production of cosmogenic nuclei on the planetary surfaces and other extra- terrestrial matter, require solid experimental data [3–5]. A large amount of experimental investiga- tions for alpha induced nuclear reactions were done with the above-mentioned motivation. There also has been a growing demand in several more practical fields. Information about the neutron yields from (a,n) reactions in thick targets and composite materials are important for geological dating techniques employing radionuclides [6]. The long-term safe handling of spent fuel from fission reactors also requires knowledge of the neutron flux produced by (a,n) reactions following the alpha-decay [7,8]. There are neutron background problems in many cases originating from the presence of the alpha- decay from certain naturally occurring elements [6]. The knowledge of alpha activation products is * Corresponding author. Tel.: +36-52-417-266; fax: +36-52- 416-181. E-mail address: tarkanyi@atomki.hu (F. T ark anyi). 0168-583X/03/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0168-583X(03)01116-9 Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 207 (2003) 381–394 www.elsevier.com/locate/nimb