Ion Track Formation Under Ambient Conditions

This chapter presents the experimental results on the influence of the parameters of the ion irradiation on the resulting ion tracks as well as the physical parameters of the irradiated materials. The results contribute towards the further understanding of the fundamental processes of ion track formation. With the primary focus of this work on ion tracks in minerals and an increased understanding of fission tracks, the materials investigated were natural apatite and quartz. Apatite is among the most common materials used for fission track dating [1], while quartz has a simple and well-understood structure, allowing to run a series of simulations on track formation under different conditions [2].