Radiation Protection Dosimetry 34:51-54 (1990)
© 1990 Oxford University Press
Revelation of Nuclear Tracks in Plastic Nuclear Track Detectors by Ultrasonic Etching
The revealing of nuclear tracks registered in plastic detectors can be enhanced by the application of an ultrasonic beam on the etchant in the chemical etching process. Lexan, LR-115 and gelatine were used as the detectors to register alpha particles and fission fragments. All these detectors were etched by the ultrasonic and the normal etching processes under the same etching conditions to compare the resultant tracks. The results show that the tracks of alpha particles revealed in any of the detectors from the ultrasonic etching process are of larger sizes and can be more easily distinguished from the background pits than those from normal etching under the same etching conditions. The bulk etching rates of these detectors have been measured and are about 20% to 50% higher for the ultrasonic etching process than for the normal etching process.