Investigation of the Effect of a He-Ne Laser on the Optical Properties through Etched CN-85 and CR-39 Containing Alpha Tracks

Abstract

In the present work, the effect of a He-Ne laser on the etching parameter, optical, and photoluminescence properties of CN-85 and CR-39 has been studied. The two types of polymers were bombarded with 5.44 MeV alpha particles using an ^(241) Am source. The bombarded samples were exposed to a laser beam at an energy density up to 217 J/cm^2. A remarkable change in the bulk etch rate was observed for both bombarded polymers with a change in the laser energy density. A considerable increase in the optical absorption was observed for the laser-irradiated samples, when compared to that of the alpha bombarded polymers and a pristine one. The optical absorption studies reveal that the optical band gap energy for both polymers decreases with increasing laser energy density. A correlation between the energy gap and the number of carbon atoms in the clusters is investigated. A noticeable decrease in the photoluminescence spectral intensity was observed with increasing laser energy density.