Grey level analysis of 2D images to determine length of α tracks in CR-39 detectors

In this work, the 2-dimensional images of α- tracks in CR-39 detectors were analyzed in terms of grey values to obtain the critical information such as track length and angle, which usually cannot be obtained by conventional optical microscopes. A user-interactive code has been developed for the automated track detection based on the average gray values and light intensity in the vicinity of individual tracks. The code automatically identifies the tracks, and determines the track density, length, major axis, minor axis, eccentricity, incidence angle, etc. and provides a 2-D cross sectional view of the detected tracks. The algorithm efficiently segregates individual tracks from the overlapped multi-tracks present above a preset depth (threshold) provided by the user with the option of manual rejection of track like manufacturing defects in the detector. This method can eventually be applied for neutron spectrometric studies, where the length and angle information of the recoil tracks in solid polymeric track detectors are crucial. (author)