A novel α-dosimetry technique using CR-39 detectors with optimized etching and FTIR spectroscopy: A prospective approach towards waste monitoring applications

Abstract

A simple and efficient approach has been developed for rapid assessment of α-particle fluence and/or dose using CR-39 detectors and FTIR spectroscopic technique. The variations in the functional group intensities in CR-39 detectors with respect to the α-particle fluence in the range of 8.56 × 104 to 2.14 × 107 cm−2 from a239Pu source were analysed. Multiple functional group absorbance correlations were used for quantitative estimation of the α-particle fluence at sequential etching intervals. The method could estimate particle fluence nearly 2 orders of magnitude higher than the conventional imaging technique, even at reduced etching duration. The study revealed that at 3h etching, the spectroscopy method can quantify the particle fluence whereas conventional imaging technique typically takes 5–6h of etching for proper track development with subsequent imaging/analysis of the tracks. Furthermore, the imaging with microscope is more time consuming than the FTIR spectroscopy. The differential FTIR absorbance variation approach has also been proposed in the present study for optimizing the etching duration and validated with theoretical simulations. The processing time optimization with enhanced α-particles detection range ensures faster quantification with minimum chemical wastage. This rapid estimation technique can be a potential solution for the α-active waste processing facilities, where waste quantification is a necessary requirement. Owing to the ease of application and scalability, an automated batch processing for large number of sample analysis is also feasible.