Studying some properties of CR-39 detector under the effect of different gamma doses

In the present study the bulk etch rate, the bulk activation energy, the track density and the degree of crystallinity percentage have been examined for gamma irradiated samples with 60Co source at doses ranging from 0 to 200 kGy. After gamma irradiation the samples were exposed to zirconium sand to collect α-particle tracks. Samples were etched at 60, 65, 70, 75 and 80 °C in 6.25 N NaOH solution for 4 h. Results indicated that, the bulk etch rate increases with the increase of gamma absorbed dose at different etching temperatures. The bulk activation energy and the track density decreased with the increase of the gamma absorbed dose. The degree of crystallinity percentage for un-etched and etched samples also has been studied for different gamma doses. The increase in bulk etch rate and the decrease in both of bulk activation energy and track density with increase in the gamma dose may be due to the degradation in CR-39 polymeric material.