Track etching characteristics of glass track detectors

Samples of barium phosphate (BP-1), soda and quartz glasses have been irrdiated by the 238U (11.4 MeV) ion beam available from the heavy ion UNILAC accelerator at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany. After chemical etching of these specimen samples in appropriate etchants at different temperatures, the values of etched track parameters, viz. bulk etch rate, track etch rate, sensitivity, etching efficiency and the critical of etching, have been determined. The activation energies for bulk and track etch rates have also been determined. Finally, a comparison of the track etch parameters for these glass detectors has been made.