The etching and optical response of Tuffak polycarbonate nuclear track detector to gamma irradiation

The effects of gamma irradiation in the dose range of 1.0-20.0 Mrad on the etching and optical characteristics of Tuffak polycarbonate (C16H14O3)n nuclear track detector have been studied by using etching and UV-visible spectroscopic techniques. The bulk etch rates increase and the activation energies for bulk etching decrease with the increase in gamma dose. The optical band gaps determined from the UV-visible spectra were found to decrease with the increase in gamma dose. These results have been explained on the basis of scission of the detector due to gamma irradiation.