Abstract:
This work is devoted to the applicability assessment of optical spectroscopy and X-ray
diffraction methods to establish the lower detection limit for the density of latent tracks from αparticles in polymer nuclear-track detectors, in the case of simulation of the formation of radon decay
daughter products using Am-241 sources. During the studies, the detection limit for the density of
latent tracks—traces of the interaction of α-particles with the molecular structure of film detectors—
was established using optical UV spectroscopy (104
track/cm2
) and X-ray diffraction (104
track/cm2
).
At the same time, analysis of the connection between structural and optical changes in polymer films
indicates that a growth in the density of latent tracks above 106–107
results into the formation of
an anisotropic change in the electron density associated with distortions in the molecular structure
of the polymer. An analysis of the parameters of diffraction reflections (the position and width of
the diffraction maximum) showed that in the range of latent track densities of 104–108
track/cm2
,
the main changes in these values are associated with deformation distortions and stresses caused
by ionization processes during the interaction of incident particles with the molecular structure of
the polymer. The increase in optical density, in turn, is caused by the accumulation of structurally
changed regions (latent tracks) in the polymer as the irradiation density increases. A general analysis
of the obtained data showed good agreement between the optical and structural characteristics of the
films depending on the irradiation density
