Also other nitrides like AlN and SiN have this same oxidation preventing properties. In this way the 14 O is readily extracted as it is imbedded in graphite at the moment of its formation. As is well known, fluorine is a very reactive element and difficult to extract from targets. There it is released in the source through a thermally controlled needle valve. The fact of having a different approach to produce radioactive ion beams, namely the use of low-energy, high intensity proton beams, results in specific problems during the development of new beams.
Targets are very dedicated because the target material choices are limited.
Moreover, for elements other than noble gases, the chemistry in the target is important and limits even further the freedom in target design, often requiring specific designs. Isobaric contamination is inherent in our design but is successfully eliminated with the separation capability of the post-accelerator. In all, our approach is somewhat limited in the number of different beams that can be produced, especially far from stability, but very high intensities of post-accelerated radioactive ion beams can be obtained and total efficiencies can be large.