Abstract
A comparative study of the effect of fast neutrons and alpha particles on the color changes of some solid state nuclear track detectors was performed. Samples from CR-39 diglycol carbonate and Makrofol polycarbonate were classified into two main groups. The first group was exposed to neutrons of energies in the range between 4.4 and 19.2 MeV, while the second group was irradiated with alpha particles of initial energies in the range between 5.1 and 34 MeV. The transmission of these samples in the wavelength range 200-2000 nm, as well as any color changes, was studied. A characteristic transmission band with different intensities in the wavelength range 200-2000 nm was observed when the samples were exposed to alpha particles, while the interaction of fast neutrons on these detectors, CR-39, may lead to the appearance of new transmission bands at some particular wavelengths.
Using the transmission data, both the tristimulus and chromaticity coordinate values were calculated. In addition, the color differences between the non-irradiated sample and those irradiated with different neutron or alpha doses were calculated. The results indicate that both CR-39 and Makrofol detectors acquire color changes under fast neutrons or alpha particles irradiation, but the Makrofol detector has more response to color change than CR-39.