Formation and growth of tracks in nuclear track materials

Abstract

This paper reviews some aspects of solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) and their applications in the radon and other research fields. Several geometrical models for the track growth given in the literature are described and compared. It is found that different models give close results for the dimensions of track openings.One of the main parameters that govern track formation is the bulk etch rate V b . Dependences of V b on different parameters such as the preparation procedures, etching conditions, irradiation before etching, etc. are examined. A review of existing methods for determination of the bulk etch rate and track etch rate V t is also given. Examples of V t functions for some detectors are presented. Some unsolved questions related to V t and some contradictory experimental results published in the literature are also summarized in the paper.Applications of SSNTDs for radon and progeny measurements are discussed. New designs of diffusion chambers that have appeared in the last few years are portrayed. A review of analytical and Monte Carlo methods for the calculation of the calibration factors in radon measurements is presented.Particular attention has been given to methods of long-term passive measurements of radon progeny with SSNTDs. These measurements are rather difficult and there is not yet a widely accepted solution. One possible solution based on the LR 115 SSNTD is outlined here.Methods for retrospective radon measurements are also described. Various applications of SSNTDs in other fields of physics and other sciences are briefly reviewed at the end of the paper. #

Experimental evaluation of the response of micro-channel plate detector to ions with 10s of MeV energies

“…1) [6] in a single or double layer configurations. Track formation in CR-39 takes place by the passage of energetic particle via an electronic collision cascade process, which spreads outward from the particle trajectory, breaks the molecular structures and results in a damaged zone in the plate [11]. After exposure to the accelerated ions, the CR-39 was etched in a 6N NaOH solution at a constant temperature of 68.5 ˚C.…”

Synthesis of Microwires of Polypyrrole via Chemical Polymerization using Track Etch Membrane as Template

“…The corresponding diameter and length of pores and synthesized microwires are similar for the reason that embedded pores within TEM template act as excellent moulds (Chakarvarti and Vetter, 1998;Enculescu, 2006;Chakarvarti, 2009). As far as the segment to segment and wire to wire variation is concerned, the same is understood to be negligible in conjunction with least variation of morphology and alignment of pores achieved by controlling homogeneity of the incident ion beam, target material and etching conditions while preparing the TEMs which is a well established distinct feature of ion track etch technique (Apel, 2001;Ferain and Legras, 2001;Nikezic and Yu, 2004;Sartowska et al, 2012;Kumar and Chakarvarti, 2006). The standard deviation is significantly small due to narrow pore size distribution that is a function of pore density nearly equal to flux density of irradiated ion beam which is 10 6 ions/m 2 in the present work.…”

An improved neutron autoradiography set-up for 10 B concentration measurements in biological samples

“…The latter parameter depends on the ionizing particle energy. 9 From each analyzed picture, a file is created reporting these parameters for each analyzed track.…”