Ro. Mazzei et al., CHARGE-EXCHANGE SIGNATURE IN ION TRACKS, Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 93(3), 1994, pp. 288-295
Chemically etched ion tracks in solid state nuclear detectors are stud
ied in detail searching for a correlation between track profile inhomo
geneities - breaks - and ion charge change events. Beams of 36 MeV car
bon ions in charge states 3+ to 6+ bombarded 300 mum thick Macrofol-E
foils. Etched track replicas were obtained and analyzed with an electr
on microscope. Microphotographed profiles were fitted with a mathemati
cal model able to follow fast slope changes in track profiles. Lengths
related to profile breaks were extracted and considered as mean free
paths for charge exchange. These results compare favourably with publi
shed cross section values.