Determination of the V function for CR-39 by atomic force microscope

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the present work, the V function (= V t /V b , ratio between the track etch rate and the bulk etch rate) of alpha particles in the CR-39 detector was determined. CR-39 detectors were irradiated with alpha particles with different energies in the range 0.5 to 5.1 MeV. After irradiation, the detectors were etched in a 6.25 N aqueous solution of NaOH maintained at 70 °C by a water bath for 15 min, which was much shorter than the normally employed etching time. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was used to measure the track lengths in order to calculate V. The corresponding alpha energies were converted into ranges in the CR-39 detector using the SRIM software. Our V values were based on very short etching time and direct measurements, so the determined V function should be more accurate.