Heavy Ion Radiation Damage Track Studies in SSNTDs (Polymers, Glasses and Minerals) and Single Activation Energy Model

Abstract

My training in Marie and Pierre Curie University, Paris for the identification of relativistic particle tracks in nuclear emulsions came handy for shifting to Heavy ion track studies in solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). Track formation mechanism in both may be different, but the basic nature of phenomenon by which the tracks are produced remains essentially the same. All charged particles produce ionisation of the medium and lose energy following Bohr's ionisation loss formula. The stopping power is a basic parameter to be calculated which depends upon the charge and velocity of the particle, and nature of the medium. The other parameters of our interest were range, energy and annealing characteristics of heavy ion tracks in SSNTDs. In 1975, the trio of R. L. Fleischer, P. B. Price and R. M. Walker, considered as a “Father of SSNTD Technique”, published their book "Nuclear Tracks in Solids and their Applications", which may be considered as a Bible for researchers in the SSNTD field. I had the good fortune to meet this trio and visit their research laboratories after publication of this book.