Pulsed UV laser-induced modifications in optical and structural characteristics of alpha-irradiated PM-355 SSNTD

Pre- and postalpha-exposed PM-355 detectors were irradiated using UV laser with different number of pulses (100, 150, 200, 300, and 400). UV laser beam energy of 20 mJ per pulse with a pulse width of 9 ns was incident on an area of 19.6 mm² of the samples. XRD spectra indicated that for both reference and UV-irradiated samples, the structure is amorphous, but the crystallite size increases upon UV irradiation. The same results were obtained from SEM analysis. Optical properties of PM-355 polymeric solid-state nuclear track detectors were also investigated. Absorbance measurements for all PM-355 samples in the range of 200–400 nm showed that the absorption edge had a blue shift up to a certain value, and then, it had an oscillating behavior. Photoluminescence spectra of PM-355 at 250 nm revealed a decrease in the broadband peak intensity as a function of the number of UV pulses, while the wavelengths corresponding to the peaks had random shifts. - Highlights: • Absorbance for all PM-355 samples shifted to longer wavelengths. • Photoluminescence spectra of PM-355 revealed a decrease in the intensity. • XRD spectra indicated the amorphous nature of reference PM-355. • Crystallinity of PM-355 increases upon UV irradiation.