Effect of Plasma Exposure on the Structural and Optical Properties of Makrofol VLG 7-1 Nuclear Track Detector

Abstract

Makrofol VLG 7-1 is a sort of Makrofol (bisphenol-A polycarbonate) nuclear track detector. We believe that the current study is the first one that deals with the effect of plasma irradiation on Makrofol VLG 7-1. Samples of Makrofol films were treated with various plasma exposure times (300-1800 sec.) The resultant outcome of the plasma irradiation on the structure and optical characteristics of the Makrofol samples were explored applying X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (UVs). The optical band gap, refractive index, and optical dielectric parameters were characterized and interpreted based on the exposure time. The optical bandgap decreased with increasing the exposure time up to 1800 sec. We attribute this to the dominance of crosslinking that damaged the crystalline portion.