Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A target assembly for a nuclear reactor, the target assembly comprising:a solid annulus comprising uranium, and defining an outer circumference and an inner circumference, the inner circumference defining a volume within the solid annulus;a solid target material within the volume of the annulus, the solid target material consisting essentially of non-uranium material and comprising at least one of Mo, P, S, Ir, Au, Re, and/or Cr;the solid target material consisting of a plurality of longitudinally stacked nuclear fuel pellets;at least one liner arranged along the inner circumference of the solid annulus, the at least one liner operable to absorb thermal neutrons and allow epithermal and fast neutrons to selectively pass to the target material during irradiation;wherein the solid target material spans the volume defined by the at least one liner; andwherein the solid annulus is configured to be distinct from and removably coupled to the solid target material following irradiation. 2. The target assembly of claim 1 further comprising one or more reflector components arranged along a perimeter of one or both of the solid target material and solid annulus. 3. The target assembly of claim 2 wherein the one or more reflector components comprise beryllium (Be) or lead (Pb). 4. The target assembly of claim 2 wherein the one or more reflector components, in at least one cross section, defines a thickness less than about 1 cm. 5. The target assembly of claim 1 wherein the at least one liner comprises one or more of boron, boron carbide, boron nitride, and cadmium. 6. The target assembly of claim 1 further comprising cladding over at least a portion of a surface of one or both of the solid annulus and solid target material. 7. The target assembly of claim 6 wherein the cladding comprises one or more of zirconium, zircalloy and stainless steel. 8. The target assembly of claim 1 wherein the solid annulus comprises uranium having an enrichment of 235U of less than about 20%. 9. The target assembly of claim 1 wherein the solid annulus comprises an alloy of uranium and erbium. 10. The target assembly of claim 1 wherein the solid annulus comprises UZrH. 11. The target assembly of claim 1 wherein the solid annulus and solid target material are disposed within a can wall. 12. The target assembly of claim 1 configured as an element to be coupled with a plurality of other elements in a single assembly. 13. The target assembly of claim 1 wherein in at least one cross section the distance between the inner and outer circumference of the solid annulus is from about 100 μm to about 1 cm. 14. The target assembly of claim 1 wherein the solid annulus defines a length extending between opposing openings to the volume, the length being less than about 38 cm.