MEASUREMENT OF BULK ETCH RATE OF CR-39 WITH ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY

For atomic force microscope (AFM) observations of minute tracks ( less than or equal to 1 mu m) in the CR-39 track detector, an accurate met hod to measure an extremely small amount of bulk etch is required. A s imple method for direct measurements of the bulk etch using AFM was de veloped. Before the etching, a part of the CR-39 surface was covered w ith epoxy adhesive resin. The amount of bulk etch was measured as a le vel difference between the etched surface and the unetched original su rface which has been covered with epoxy resin during its chemical etch ing processing. The details of this method are reported and its limita tions are discussed in comparison to a conventional measuring method u sing tracks of fission fragments. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All r ights reserved.