The statistical process of pore growth in multi pore foils

Using the electrolytical etching method the breakthrough-times (i.e. the time when the two etched cones from both sides of the detector contact) and the resulting track etching rates v_t of heavy ion tracks in 8 μm polycarbonate Makrofol KG have been measured. The samples were irradiated at the GSI, Darmstadt (Germany) with gold ions and different fluences at a specific energy of 11.6 MeV/u. All foils were etched in 6 n NaOH at room temperature. Fluctuations of breakthrough-times of single pore foils were analysed. Also the breakthrough-time of multi-pore-foils were measured. The dependence of the mean breakthrough-time on the ion fluence is dicussed. This dependence will be explained by the fluctuations of the breakthrough-time of the pores.     

The radial etching velocity for tracks in polymer film

Here we have made an attempt to describe etching along and perpendicular to the ion track axis with the many-hit response model. From experiments where sheets of Makrofol KG film were exposed to Au and Xe ions it was found that V_t/V_b depends on restricted energy loss (REL). Then, for the many-hit model the registration parameters of the detectors were found and were used for the calculation of the radial distributions of the transversal etching rate and were compared with experimental data.     

Observation of diffusion through ion irradiated Makrofol KG

The features of the latent track in polycarbonate can be analysed by measuring the diffusion constant under ultra high vacuum conditions. Stacks of 30 μm Makrofol KG foils were irradiated with uranium ions of 11.4 MeV/u at the GSI Darmstadt, Germany. We used different fluences from 3·10¹⁰ to 5·10¹¹ ions/cm². The diffusion constant was determined by the time-lag-method [1]. A quadrupole mass filter was used to observe the diffusion of the gas. We measured the diffusion of argon through different foils of each stack at room temperature. In all cases also unirradiated foils were measured. The dependence of the permeability and the diffusion constant on the ion fluence and the energy loss of the ions will be given and indications on the size of latent ion tracks concerning gas diffusion will be discussed.     

Effect of high gamma dose on the PADC properties

The effect of the properties of PADC nuclear track detectors after exposure to high doses of gamma absorbed doses up to 5×10⁵ Gray (50 Mrad) were studied. The gamma source was a 9.03 PBq (244 KCi), Co-60 source. Results indicate that each of the bulk etch rate (V_b), the tracks etch rate (V_t) and the sensitivity (V) of the detectors increases with the high gamma absorbed dose, but there is a drop in these parameters at the low gamma absorbed dose. Signs of surface roughness were observed by increasing the gamma absorbed doses and changes in color observed for doses larger than 2×10⁵ Gray. The temperature of detectors during irradiation time reached 41°C. The fission fragment tracks (from Cf-252 source) disappeared quickly within the etching time (minutes) for total absorbed doses greater than 3×10⁵ Gray due to their high bulk etch rate.     

Permeability of oxygen through polycarbonate in water

The permeability of oxygen in water through polycarbonate is observed for thin Makrofol KG and Polyethylenterephthalat (PETP) foils of different thicknesses.

For each thickness the oxygen permeability through the polymer foils has been measured for unirradiated and with a high fluence irradiated foils. It was found that the permeability of oxygen through irradiated Makrofol KG foils is up to a factor of two higher than unirradiated foils.

The foils were irradiated with ⁷⁹Au ions at the energy of 11.65 MeV/u at GSI Darmstadt, Germany.     

Free radicals inhibitor effect on makrofol E nuclear tracks. Preliminary data

Thin foils of Makrofol E prepared with and without inclusion of a free radical scavenger (DPPH), were irradiated at the Tandar facilities. 374 keV and 50 keV ¹⁶O⁺⁺ ions from a Varian Ion Implanter and ⁷Li⁺ ions at different energies from a Tandem accelerator were used. Replicas of the etched foils were observed by transmission electron microscopy.

Track 3iameters exhibited a slight difference between the treated and untreated foils in the case of irradiation with ¹⁶O ions. A larger difference between the groups in the case of ⁷Li ions was found.     

Cl nuclear quadrupole resonance studies of molecular motions of ClO3 and water diffusion in Ca(ClO3)2·2H2O

A ³⁵Cl nuclear quadrupole resonance (³⁵Cl-NQR) investigation of polycrystalline Ca(ClO₃)₂·2H₂O is described. The ³⁵Cl-NQR frequencies (ν_Q) for two resonance lines (ν_Q1 and ν_Q2), the spin lattice relaxation time (T_1Q) for ν_Q2 only and the line width δν_Q2 were measured in the temperature range 292–345 K, except for the frequency measured up to 455 K. The observed decrease in the resonance frequencies with increasing temperature permitted the determination of the frequencies of librations of the ClO₃⁻ ion about two axes perpendicular to the three-fold axis of the ion mainly responsible for this effect. The temperature dependence of the relaxation time T_1Q proved the occurrence of water diffusion and hindered rotation of ClO₃⁻ ions. The activation energies of these two molecular motions were determined, and their effect on the electric field gradient at the site of a chlorine nucleus was discussed. Temperature measurements of the line width δν_Q2 confirmed the conclusions drawn from the analysis of T_1Q(T).     

Ionizing particles may create shockwaves

To find a model that describes the gas diffusion on irradiated polymers (Makrofol KG polycarbonate) the diffusion constants have been measured with argon as diffusion gas. The polymers were irradiated with uranium, gold and lead ions of about 10 MeV/u and ion fluences between 1×10¹⁰ and 4×10¹¹ ions/cm². The ion irradiated probes show two quite different dependencies of the diffusion constant on the ion energy loss. These effects are strongly related to the fluence of the irradiation. In case of low ion fluences, the diffusion constant is up to 8 times higher than that of pristine material. In the probes with high ion fluences we observe a decrease of diffusion constant to half the value of the pristine material. To understand the dependence of the diffusion constant on ion fluences we apply a model of compacting. This model describes the compacting ability of shockwaves arising from latent tracks. A track formation model is suggested. When an ion penetrates the foil it creates shockwaves around its path. These shockwaves put compacting forces on earlier created latent tracks in the same foil.     

Some relations of the diffusion constant of latent tracks in polymers and the ion energy loss

Measurements of the diffusion constant and the permeability of ion irradiated Makrofol KG (polycarbonate) sheets have been done with Argon and Nitrogen as diffusion gas. The polymers were irradiated at the “Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung” (GSI, Germany) with Uranium and Gold ions with energies of about 10 MeV/nuc. The fluence varies from 3·10⁹ to 4·10¹¹ ions/cm². For the irradiation the material was put together in stacks with layers of 8 μm thickness. This allows to relate a definite amount of energy loss to each layer and to examine the dependence of the diffusion constant and the permeability on it. For comparison electron irradiated and pristine material (i.e. the untreated material) were also measured.

The general tendency shows an increase of the diffusion constant and the permeability with growing energy loss up to a certain limit. In case of the highest energy loss the material changes its appearance and the diffusion constant and the permeability values are remarkable lower than those of the pristine material. A first trail of explanation might give the three-zone-model presented in this paper.     

Activation energy of etching for CR-39 as a function of linear energy transfer of the incident particles

In this work, we have studied the effect of the radiation damage caused by the incident particles on the activation energy of etching for CR-39 samples. The damage produced by the incident particle is expressed in terms of the linear energy transfer (LET). CR-39 samples from American Acrylic were irradiated to three different LET particles. These are N (LET₂₀₀ = 20 KeV/μm) as a light particle, Fe (LET₂₀₀ = 110 KeV/μm) as a medium particle and fission fragments (ff) from a ²⁵²Cf source as heavy particles. In general the bulk etch rate was calculated using the weight difference method and the track etch rate was determined using the track geometry at various temperatures (50–90 °C) and concentrations (4–9 N) of the NaOH etchant. The average activation energy F_b related to the bulk etch rate v_b was calculated from ln v_b vs. l/T. The average activation energy E_t related to the track etch rate v_t was estimated from ln v_t vs. l/T. It is shown that activation energy of etching is a constant value for CR-39 detector where E_t was found to be independent on the damage produced by the incident particle.     

Defect versus nanocrystal luminescence emitted from room temperature and hot-implanted SiO2 layers

Silicon nanocrystals have been synthesized in SiO₂ matrix using Si ion implantation. Si ions were implanted into 300-nm-thick SiO₂ films grown on crystalline Si at energies of 30–55 keV, and with doses of 5×10¹⁵, 3×10¹⁶, and 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻². Implanted samples were subsequently annealed in an N₂ ambient at 500–1100°C during various periods. Photoluminescence spectra for the sample implanted with 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻² at 55 keV show that red luminescence (750 nm) related to Si-nanocrystals clearly increases with annealing temperature and time in intensity, and that weak orange luminescence (600 nm) is observed after annealing at low temperatures of 500°C and 800°C. The luminescence around 600 nm becomes very intense when a thin SiO₂ sample is implanted at a substrate temperature of 400°C with an energy of 30 keV and a low dose of 5×10¹⁵ cm⁻². It vanishes after annealing at 800°C for 30 min. We conclude that this luminescence observed around 600 nm is caused by some radiative defects formed in Si-implanted SiO₂.     

A comparative study of track registration response of makrofol-(KG, KL & N) polycarbonate to Ar ions

In the present work a comparative study of track registration response of ⁴⁰Ar ions in different types of Makrofol polycarbonates viz. Makrofol-KG, KL & N have been done. The etched track parameters viz. bulk etch rate, track etch rate, etch rate ratio, cone angle and etching efficiency were calculated. The variation of etching rates with temperature were found to be exponential and follow the Arrhenius equation. The values of activation energy for bulk and track etching were also calculated. Maximum etchable track length/range were also obtained and compared with the theoretical values obtained from computer program RANGE. From the results it is found that the polycarbonates having same chemical composition manufactured by different chemical processes have slightly different behavior.     

The effect of etching solution composition on the response of an electrochemically etched CR-39 detector

Etching solutions of different compositions were applied at room temperature (22°C) for electrochemical etching. The background developed during electrochemical etching in a CR-39 track detector was investigated. Detectors irradiated with alphas of 5.49 MeV were measured also. It was found that the PEW solutions (potassiumhydroxid, ethylalcohol, water) showed good sensitivity. One of them (PEW_20/40 was applied for neutrons from a ²⁵²Cf source. The achieved registration sensitivity was about 10⁻⁵ spot/n after 3 hours of etching time.     

Radiothermoluminescence of poly(tetra fluoroethylene) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) pretreated by xenon ions

Low-temperature (77–300 K) RadioThermoLuminescence (RTL) investigations of Poly(Tetra FluoroEthylene) (PTFE) and Poly(Ethylene TerePhthalate) (PET) foils previously treated by different flux (Φ = 10⁶–10¹¹ cm⁻²) of Xenon ions with energy 1.1 MeV/nucleon have been showed an essential ion-induced changes in RTL of the both polymers under study. In PET as well as in PTFE significant changes of RTL light yield observed at the ion flux more than 10⁹ cm⁻². Variation of RTL light yield in PTFE accompanied by appearance of new TL temperature maxima on the glow curve. An existence of correlation between observed changes of molecular mobility in ion-irradiated polymer and optical (PET) and strength (PTFE) properties have been found.     

Increased surface roughness by oxygen plasma treatment of graphite/polymer composite

The technology of selective plasma etching was applied to increase the surface roughness of graphite/polymer composite. Etching was performed with a low pressure weakly ionised oxygen plasma created with a RF generator of the output power of 200 W and frequency of 27.12 MHz. The density of charged particles, density of neutral oxygen atoms and the electron temperature was about 1×10¹⁶ m⁻³, 4×10²¹ m⁻³, and 5 eV, respectively. The effects of plasma treatment were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron microprobe (EMPA) and Talysurf. It was found that the surface roughness was increased by approximately 15 times, from a virgin sample at the roughness of R_a=0.27 μm to a very rough surface with R_a=4 μm. The roughness increased with increasing plasma exposure time. The EMPA results showed that the amount of sulphur in the surface layer decreased with increasing etching time indicating that PPS polymer was the material etched preferentially.     

Transient behavior of the thermal ion emission from KCl(0 0 1) upon polarity reversal of the electric extraction field

The technique of polarity reversal of the external electric extraction field (strength: 10² V/cm) was applied to study the relaxation of the thermal ion emission from the KCl(0 0 1) single crystal surface. Transient currents of the K⁺ and K₂Cl⁺ ions upon switching from the emission suppression to the ion extraction mode were recorded as a function of the evaporation time, the temperature, and the time of field reversal. The temperature dependence of the time constants of the K⁺ ions obtained from the exponential decreases of the emission currents to their steady-state emission resulted as logτ_h(s)=−(13.39±0.56)+(12.42±0.49)10³/T in a high temperature interval of 826–930 K after a prolonged heating period and as logτ_l(s)=−(20.65±1.04)+(16.77±0.81)10³/T in a low temperature interval of 750–801 K at the initial stage of evaporation, with corresponding activation energies of E_h(K⁺)=2.47±0.14 eV and E_l(K⁺)=3.32±0.16 eV, respectively. The transient currents can be interpreted by a partial adsorption of the suppressed ion currents at the kinks of the surface steps. The differences in the high- and low-temperature runs may be attributed to a strong coarsening of the surface at higher temperatures, which occurs as a bunching of monosteps to macrosteps and/or to an enrichment and segregation of divalent impurities at the surface. The transient behavior of the molecular K₂Cl⁺ ions seems to be strongly correlated with that of the K⁺ ions. This correlation is possibly caused by changes of the strength or the sign of the local electrical field connected with the excess charge at the kinks.     

Study of the ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition of NaH3(SeO3)2 single crystals by H and Na NMR

The ¹H and ²³Na spin–lattice and spin–spin relaxation times of NaH₃(SeO₃)₂ single crystals grown using the slow-evaporation method were measured as functions of temperature and frequency in the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases. The changes in the symmetry of the (SeO₃)²⁻ dimers as a result of the ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition are associated with large changes in the spin–lattice and spin–spin relaxation times, and in the number of resonance lines. The large changes in the relaxation times at 195 K indicate that the H and Na ions are significantly affected by this transition. The change in the number of resonance lines for the ¹H and ²³Na nuclei means that the orientations of the (SeO₃)²⁻ dimers and the environments of the Na ions change at T_C. Therefore, the orientations of the (SeO₃)²⁻ dimers and the environments of the Na ions play important roles in the phase transitions. In conclusion, the ferroelectric–paraelectric phase transition of NaH₃(SeO₃)₂ is accompanied by changes in hydrogen-bond structure and distortions of the (SeO₃)²⁻ and Na⁺ ion lattices, which form a slightly distorted octahedron.     

New evidence for a subshell gap at N=32

An 879.9(2) keV γ-ray transition has been identified following the β decay of ⁵⁸V and assigned as the 2⁺₁→0⁺₁ transition in ⁵⁸Cr₃₄. A peak in the energies of the first excited 2⁺ states for the even–even chromium isotopes is now evident at ⁵⁶Cr₃₂, providing empirical evidence for a significant subshell gap at N=32. The appearance of this neutron subshell closure for neutron-rich nuclides may be attributed to the diminished π1f_7/2–ν1f_5/2 monopole proton–neutron interaction as protons are removed from the 1f_7/2 single-particle orbital.     

Investigations of heavy ion tracks in polyethylene naphthalate films

The heavy ion beam (with fluence 3x10⁸ ion/cm²) from a cyclotron has been used for irradiation of thin polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) films. Latent tracks in these polymeric films have been sensitized by UV radiation and then chemically etched in NaOH solution. The etching process parameters have been controlled by the electroconductivity method. After etching, parameters of samples have been examined by SEM and bubble point methods (Coulter® Porometer II instrument). Results have shown good quality of PEN track membranes with pore sizes in the range: 0.1 – 0.5 μm. The described procedure is known for thin polythylene terephthalate (PET) films. Taking into consideration that PEN films have got better mechanical, thermal, gas barrier as well as better chemical resistance properties in comparison with PET films, the possibility of application of such membranes is much wider.     

Study of fossil tracks due to VH and VVH groups of cosmic ray nuclei in olivine crystals from Luna-16 and Luna-24

The olivine crystals from lunar regolith samples taken by the Soviet unmanned spacecrafts Luna-16 and Luna-24 were investigated. Eleven 0.5 –1.0 mm size olivine crystals were mounted in epoxy, polished and then etched in modified WO₄ solution. The Fe-group track densities up to 10⁸ tracks.cm⁻² (Fe-group) were measured under optical microscope. The tracks of length greater than 30 microns due to Z ≥ 36 cosmic ray nuclei are counted for VVH tracks density for all the crystals. The VVH / VH track densities ratio for these lunar olivine crystals varies from 1.25×10⁻⁴ to 2×10⁻³. It corresponds to the averaged depth of these crystals in lunar soil of 2–8 cm during galactic cosmic ray exposure. Lunar crystals are well suited for VVH track studies due to a very high track density. Two crystals were annealed at 430°C for 32 hrs. This procedure eliminates iron group tracks completely and leaves etchable tracks of nuclei with Z 50 even in the olivine crystals with Fe-group tracks up to 1–2×10⁸ tracks cm⁻². We were able to measure two tracks with the length 195 and 210μm which were produced by Th---U group of Galactic cosmic ray nuclei.