Sensitivity of LR 115 SSNTD in a diffusion chamber

Abstract

Solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs), such as LR 115, have been commonly used in diffusion chambers for long-term measurements of radon gas concentrations. For the LR 115 SSNTD, it has been found that the active layer removed during chemical etching is significantly affected by the presence and amount of stirring, and thus cannot be controlled easily. However, the sensitivity of the LR 115 detector inside a diffusion chamber to the radon and/or thoron gas concentration is dependent on the actual removed active layer thickness. This relationship is dependant on the geometry of the diffusion chamber and the deposition fraction of 218Po in the diffusion chamber, as well as the V function for the LR 115 detector (V is the ratio between the track etch velocity Vt to the bulk etch velocity Vb). This paper presents the experimentally determined relationships between the sensitivity of the LR 115 detector inside a Karlsruhe diffusion chamber and the removed active layer thickness, for both radon and thoron. A V function was adjusted to simulate the relationships. In particular, for the case of 222Rn, we have found f∼0.5, where f is the fraction of 218Po which decays inside the diffusion chamber before deposition onto available inner surfaces of the chamber. In conclusion, we have found that the sensitivities critically depend on the actual removed active layer thickness, so this should be monitored and used in determining the sensitivities.