On the reproducibility of SSNTD track counting efficiency

Abstract

In this work, the influence of track density and chemical etching on the reproducibility of the track counting efficiency, ε 0, in solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) is studied. This was performed by means of the analysis of CR-39 sheets that were attached to a thin film of natural uranium. Maintaining the chemical etching parameters constant and varying the exposition time, ε 0 is observed to be constant for track densities varying between values approximately equal to the track background and those corresponding to the track overlapping limit, where track counting becomes difficult ( ∼10 5 cm −2 at our conditions). Otherwise, keeping constant the exposition time and varying the etching temperature, a variation in ε 0 is found if a usual track counting criterion is employed. However, such a variation vanishes statistically when a more rigorous criterion is adopted.