Measurement of target fragments produced by 160 MeV proton beam in aluminum and polyethylene with CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors

•We study target fragments produced by 160 MeV protons in Al and PE using CR-39.•We use two different etching times to measure high and low LET particles.•Short-range high-LET particles can be etched out for longer etching.•Lower-LET particles are not revealed for shorter etching.•Number of detected secondary particles is higher behind PE than Al targets.

Production of target fragments from reactions of 160 MeV proton beams in aluminum and polyethylene was measured with CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors (PNTD). Due to the detection limit of PNTD, primary protons cannot be detected; only low-energy short-range target fragments are registered. As a feasibility study, a so called “two step etching method” was employed to get the linear energy transfer (LET) spectra, absorbed dose, and dose equivalent. This method is discussed in this paper, together with the measured results.