Comparison of charge response of PET films of different brands used as high threshold Nuclear Track Detectors

Abstract

Commercially available polymer films of a particular brand (Desmat CT100), identified as Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), was shown to be very effective as Nuclear Track Detectors (NTDs) with a very high detection threshold (Z/β≈ 140). It makes this particular brand of PET films an ideal choice as an NTD for rare event (e.g. strangelets) search in cosmic rays as well as in particle accelerators. Charge response and other properties of PET films from different batches of the Desmat CT100 brand as well as PET films from two other manufacturers, Plus Print and Office Plus were studied to check for consistency. Those studies show no significant difference among different batches of PET films for the Desmat CT100 brand. But statistically significant differences in charge response are seen between PET films from different manufacturers despite similarities in their chemical composition.