A study of heavy ion tracks in phosphate glass detectors

Abstract Samples of phosphate glass detectors have been exposed vertically to 28 Si (6.4 MeV/N), 40 Ar (5.5, 3.75 and 2.55 MeV/N), 56 Fe (6.4 MeV/N), 59 Ni (6.5 MeV/N), 84 Kr (0.9 MeV/N) and 132 Xe (0.9 MeV/N) ions from heavy ion accelerators at the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna (Moscow), U.S.S.R. The exposed samples have been etched in 40 vol% HF and also in NaOH solution of varying concentrations (1–6 N) at 40°C for different etching times. Track diameter variations against the dissolved detector thickness have been studied. The total etchable track length for these heavy ions in this detector has been determined experimentally. The energy loss rate and the range of the heavy ions in this detector have also been computed theoretically. Comparing the total etchable track length with the theoretical range, the critical threshold for etchable track formation has been determined.