Surface chemical etching behavior of LR-115 type II solid state nuclear track detector: effects of UV and ultrasonic beam

Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) are well known for the detection of ionizing radiation through track formation of heavy ionizing particles. The LR-115 detector was commonly used SSNTD for the detection and measurement of Rn-222 and its progeny. Several techniques of track revelation were known but, the chemical etching technique was the most frequently used. So the surface chemical etching behavior of LR-115 polymer is an important parameter in the study of ionizing radiation. The LR-115 type II SSNTD were etched by giving pre-UV and post-UV exposure to alpha irradiation on it, by the application of ultrasonic beam on the etchant after alpha irradiation and under normal conditions. The effects are discussed in terms of bulk etch rate V-b, track etch rate V-t, and track sensitivity. The result shows that the revelation of alpha particle tracks in the detector was enhanced by the application of ultrasonic beam on etchant. Both the bulk etch rate V-b and track etch rate V-t were found to be higher in case of ultrasonic etching than the normal etching conditions. Both the bulk etch rate V-b and track etch rate V-t were found to be higher in case of post-UV exposure after alpha irradiation to the detector than the normal alpha irradiated detector.