High sensitive electrolytical conductivity measurements of irradiated polymer films of 1μm thickness measured by a modified experimental set-up

Abstract

The interaction of heavy ions with solids produces a narrow radial core of primary damage. The actual nature of the damage and the mechanism of its formation is not yet fully understood. The technique of the electrochemical etching of irradiated samples is an useful method to investigate these structures of the track cores. The transversale etching rate as a function of the radius, derived from the time-dependence of the radius of the etching pore, can be interpreted as the corresponding magnitude of the degree of the damage within the track core. To carry through measurements of smallest radii of etching pores, their very high electric resistance respectively, a sophisticated experimental set-up is required. An advanced set-up is performed, which enables, by application of a combined d.c.-a.c.-method, to measure the resistance of the sample during the whole etching process, associated with the origin of pore and its growth up to radii of 10 nm and more.