Study of the application prospects of film detectors for estimation of α-radiation density

Abstract

The aim of this research is to study the prospects of using the proposed methods of optical UV spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry to determine the radiation density of the daughter products of radon decay - α-particles recorded using polymer track detectors. This paper presents the results of experiments on detecting the daughter products of radon decay - α-particles in a room on various floors for a fairly long time (within 6 months), the choice of which made it possible to determine not only the concentration dependences (growth in the density of registered α-particles) over time, but also to determine the lower limit for recording changes in the optical spectra of film detectors used to register α-particles. During the experiments, good convergence of the results of structural changes determined by optical spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods was established. These changes are caused by the processes of interaction of α-particles with a polymer detector, characterized by deformation distortion of the molecular chains of the polymer, leading to the formation of defects that affect changes in optical and electron density. The proposed methods were used to determine the connection between the interaction processes of α-particles with the molecular structure of polymer films used as detectors. It was determined that the most significant changes are observed at densities of registered α-particles above 104 cm−2, the value of which is the threshold value for identification of radon decay products using film detectors without chemical etching.

Keywords

• Optical spectroscopy
• Film detectors
• Radon
• Decay products
• Transmission spectra
• Detection