THE 2-STEP ELECTROCHEMICAL ETCHING TECHNIQUE APPLIED FOR POLYCARBONATE TRACK ETCHED DETECTORS

The two-step ECE technique was optimized by varying the electrical field strength and applied for Makrofol DE for neutron dosimetry and radon monitoring using an electric field strength of 26.7 kV.cm-1. In comparison with the previously applied combination of chemical and electro-chemical etching, the neutron response was increased above a threshold of about 1.5 MeV by a factor of 3 to a value of 52 tracks.cm-1.mSv-1. The background track density and its standard deviation of (6 +/- 2) cm-2 allows to indicate already 0.1 mSv. The alpha energy range was extended from an alpha window of about 1.5 MeV to an alpha energy range from 0.5 to 4 MeV.