Bulk Etch Rate Measurements and Calibrations of Plastic Nuclear Track Detectors

Balestra, S.; Cozzi, M.; Giacomelli, G.; Giacomelli, R.; Giorgini, M.; Kumar, A.; Mandrioli, G.; Manzoor, S.; Margiotta, A. R.; Medinaceli, E.; Patrizii, L.; Popa, V.; Qureshi, I. E.; Rana, M. A.; Sirri, G.; Spurio, M.; Togo, V.; Valieri, C.

Bulk Etch Rate Measurements and Calibrations of Plastic Nuclear Track Detectors

Authors

Description

New calibrations of CR39 and Makrofol nuclear track detectors have been obtained using 158 A GeV Pb (82+) and In (49+) ions; a new method for the bulk etch rate determination, using both cone height and base diameter measurements was developed. The CR39 charge resolution based on the etch-pit base area measurement is adequate to identify nuclear fragments in the interval 7 <= Z/beta <= 49. For CR39 the detection threshold is at REL~50 MeV cm^2/g, corresponding to a nuclear fragment with Z/beta~7. Base cone area distributions for Makrofol foils exposed to Pb (82+) ions have shown for the first time all peaks due to nuclear fragments with Z > 50; the distribution of the etched cone heights shows well separated individual peaks for Z/beta = 78 - 83 (charge pickup). The Makrofol detection threshold is at REL 2700 MeV cm^2/g, corresponding to a nuclear fragment with Z/beta~50.
11 pages, 5 EPS figures. Submitted to Nucl. Instr. Meth. B