Production of 178\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{178}$$\end{document}Hfm2 and a simple chemical sepa

The nuclear isomer 178\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{178}$$\end{document}Hfm2 enables various investigations owing to its unique properties. To study exotic nuclear reactions induced by 178\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{178}$$\end{document}Hfm2, an isomeric target is the most effective option in terms of luminosity. However, this creates many challenges to overcome. One of the challenges is that nanogram quantities of the isomer are essential for fabricating a target. We conducted a pilot experiment to establish the method for isomer production, as the first step toward large-scale production at the Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF), RIKEN. An α\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\alpha$$\end{document} beam at 40 MeV supplied from the AVF cyclotron bombarded natural-abundance metallic Yb foils. Hf isotopes were extracted from the irradiated target by a new chemical separation method. We produced a sample containing 1011\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$10^{11}$$\end{document} atoms of 178\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{178}$$\end{document}Hfm2, paving the way to future large-scale production at the RIBF.