Surface layer in CR-39 plastic track detector where the bulk etch rate is enhanced

摘要

The fission fragment tracks in CR-39 detectors have been observed carefully using an atomic force microscope after extremely short chemical etching in stirred 6 N KOH solution kept at 70degreesC. It was found from the etch-pit growth curve for the etching duration between 10 and 1800 s that there existed a thin layer within about 70 nm where the bulk etch rate was anomalously high. The track core radius of fission fragment was also evaluated to be about 6 nm from the extrapolation of the growth curve in a thinner region. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. [References: 17]