A global model for annealing in solid state track detectors

A systematic study of annealing phenomenon in solid state track detectors ( SSTD) is presented using a quasiequilibrium approach for the defects migrat ion process. The nonlinear nature of the mechanism is also taken into accou nt, which leads to an interesting formula for rate of annealing. Some of th e experimentally tested empirical/semi-empirical formulae can also be deduc ed from it under certain approximations. The importance of the concept of r elaxation time/hopping time is stressed. The temperature dependence of rate of annealing follows automatically from this formulation. Suggestion is ma de for experimental measurement of half life of fractional thermal fading o f tracks so that the nonlinearity parameter can be computed and annealing p rocess can be better understood. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd,All rights r eserved.