Investigation of the radial track etching rate in a plastic track detector as a function of the local damage density around a heavy ion path

An attempt is being made to define the sensitivity of plastic track detectors on the basis of a new concept. The main feature of this (micro) concept is the relation between the radial etching rate of a heavy ion track and the local damage density by means of a continuous function. The energy dose depending on the radial distance from the ion path is taken as a measure of the local damage density. The corresponding etching rate has been measured by the conductometric method. The sharp rise of the radial etching rate with increasing dose explains the threshold character of the track registration and confirms the applicability of the existing threschold registration criteria for the practical purposes. The dependence of the radial etching rate on the radial dose can be described by the multitarget model which explains the preferential etching by the collective activation of a given number of sensitive elements. The lower slope of the corresponding curve for γ-radiation demonstrates the substantial influence of the dose rate on this collective activation process