EFFECTS OF HIGH-INTENSITY ULTRASOUND IN CHEMICAL ETCHING OF PARTICLE TRACKS IN SOLID-STATE NUCLEAR TRACK DETECTORS

Experiments have been carried out to study the possible effects of ult rasonic energy in the chemical etching of particle tracks in plastic s olid state nuclear track detectors. On irradiating the etching medium by ultrasound, temperature of etching medium rises and the rise in tem perature depends on the acoustic power of the ultrasound. We have trie d to isolate the effects produced by ultrasound by carrying out variou s experiments to observe the nature of the etched tracks, by measuring : (a) the bulk-etch rates and the track-etch rates, (b) variations of track densities and (c) the nature of the track profiles and comparing them with those observed in conventional chemical etching methods und er identical conditions. The results showed significant changes in the track revelation properties of particle tracks in cellulose nitrate a nd Lexan solid state nuclear track detectors on ultrasound-induced etc hing as compared to conventional chemical etching method. The signific ant advantages of ultrasound-induced chemical etching over conventiona l chemical etching of particle tracks are: reduction in etching time, lower bulk-etch rates and relatively larger track-etch rates leading t o an overall improvement in the track revelation process. (C) 1998 Els evier Science B.V.