Effect of gamma-ray on the formation of heavy ion microfilter of high radiation-resistive polymers

The environmental effects influencing track registration in polymers have been examined prior to, during, and post-irradiation by many researchers, in which the effect by short-wave photo-irradiation is the most famous. However, no examination has been found for the positive effect by gamma-ray irradiation. This paper shows, in the formation of heavy ion track microfilter of high radiation-resistive polymers, that the gamma-ray increased the track etching rate without influencing bulk etching rate, because it attacked only the damage in the track. It was found that the track etching rate of polyimide or PEEK at the dose of 4 x 108 Rad of gamma-ray increased more than 3 times that of unirradiated polymer and the effect was more remarkable for tracks formed by lighter ions than for those by heavier ions. (author)