ISOTROPIC ETCHING CHARACTERISTICS OF MAKROFOL-E

Abstract

In Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs), passage of individual heavily ionizing charged particles are revealed by selective chemical etching of the radiation damaged material along the particle's trajectory. In the present work, Makrofol-E track detectors were irradiated with ⁵⁸Niions of 11.56 MeV/u energy at UNILAC, GSI, Darmstadt, Germany, to create the latent tracks. Irradiated sample were successively etched in 6N NaOH at three different temperatures 40^oC, 55^oC and 70^oC respectively. Isotropy of the bulk etch rate of the detector is studied using both diameter and thickness measuring techniques. From the measured diameter of the etched nuclear tracks and the thickness loss measurement of the detector, the bulk etch rates (V_G) along and perpendicular to the surface are determined respectively. _