Investigation of the response of thin CR-39 polymer foils irradiated with light ions

One of the most often used polymer for radiation research and protection dosimetry is poly[diethylene glycol bis-(allyl carbonate)] which is commercially named CR-39. Due to a unique sensitivity it is the most suitable material for low-energy light ions studies. In this work the track breakthrough is studied by using an effective method of electrolytic etching, which was earlier successfully applied to swift heavy ions in several polymers. Samples of CR-39 with the thickness of 22-400 μm were irradiated with protons and helium ions having energies up to 7 MeV/amu. Using the conductivity data, sequent openings of the pores were observed. Moreover, with the help of electron scanning microscopy, a model of pore formation was constructed and the influence of energy losses on the geometry of tracks as well as the rate of the process were investigated. Finally, the latent track size was obtained from the experimental data and compared with that of other ions.