Integral cross section measurement of the F( γ, n)F reaction for 12-20 MeV bremsstrahlung photons.

F radioactive isotope is widely used in PET imaging for nuclear medicine. Medical linear accelerators producing high-flux bremsstrahlung beams up to 20 MeV are commonly used in radiation therapy. Hence, the production of F through photon-induced channels will reduce many of the intricacies in transportation and handling. With this objective, the integral cross sections for F(γ, n)F reaction, for bremsstrahlung endpoint energies of 12, 14.6, and 20 MeV, are measured employing the activation technique. The experimentally measured cross section was analysed using the nuclear reaction code TALYS 1.96. Parameters for level density models and gamma strength function models are optimized within the framework of a statistical approach.