Etching of low energy (</O keV/amu) heavy ion tracks in minerals: implications for possible α-recoil track dating

Partially covered polished sections of various minerals have been irradiated with 1 keV/amu lead ions, treated with different etchants and probed with a stylus instrument. The observation of a step-height between irradiated and unirradiated areas, at low irradiation dose, provides an indirect evidence for the etchability of alpha-recoil tracks in these materials. The inferred etch rate enhancement is very low (< 2-3), which explains why α-recoil tracks have not been visualized by classical techniques of observation in most materials. We suggest some guidelines for a more systematic search for etched α-recoil tracks in minerals. (author)