Effects of He–Ne laser on etching parameters of lexan (polycarbonate) plastic track detector irradiated with fission fragments

Abstract

This research work investigates the effects of He–Ne laser (115 and 287 J/cm2 fluence) radiation on the etching parameters like bulk etch rate VB, track etch rate VT, Sensitivity S, critical angle θC and efficiency η of Lexan plastic track detector, irradiated with fission fragments from 252Cf source. The changes in etching parameters due to He–Ne laser in the fluence range of 0, 115, and 287 J/cm2 at different temperatures (328–348 K) have been discussed in detail. Bulk and track etch rates are observed to vary with He–Ne laser fluence both in case of pre-exposed and post-exposed detectors as compared to un-exposed Lexan plastic detector. Both bulk and track etch rates follow Arrhenius equation. Based on these results, important inferences regarding activation energies associated with bulk and track etch rates have been made. Sensitivity, critical angles and efficiencies of detector material also reveal significant facts about the changes in properties due to He–Ne laser on the Lexan plastic detector. A comparative study is performed on the effects of coherent/in-coherent electromagnetic radiation on nuclear track detectors. The activation energies of bulk and tack etching for commonly used nuclear track detectors is also reported.