Patent ID: 7023000

Claim:
A method for generating a secondary isotope from a precursor isotope comprising: introducing a charge into a generator system, the charge including a volume of a precursor compound that includes the precursor isotope, the generator system having operating conditions selected to maintain the precursor compound as a gas; maintaining the charge within the generator system for a period sufficient for a quantity of the precursor compound to decay and produce a target quantity of a secondary compound that includes the secondary isotope; collecting the secondary compound as a solid on a collection surface within the generator system; trapping a volume of the precursor compound in a cold trap arranged within the generator system, the cold trap being remote and separable from the collection surface and having operating conditions under which the precursor compound is a liquid or a solid; eluating the collection surface with an eluant solution to remove a major portion of the secondary compound from the collection surface and form an eluate containing substantially all of the secondary compound; removing the eluate from the generator system.