Thermal effects of heavy ion radiation damage in glass track detectors

The radiation damage after bombardment with high energy particles is believed to be caused by the displacement of atoms from their normal sites. These displaced atoms tend to return to their original positions particularly during annealing. The thermal effects caused by 238U ion beam with energies of 15.0 and 5.9 MeV/n were studied in sodalime, phosphate and silicate glass detectors. The annealing kinetics of these radiation damage tracks is discussed using both isochronal and isothermal processes. A modified formulation, developed earlier, is employed to calculate the activation energy of annealing. (author)