Detection techniques fission tracks

A large number of radiometric techniques have been developed for Pu analysis on tracer, biochemical, and environmental samples (119,120). In general the a-particles of most Pu isotopes are detected by gas-proportional, surface-barrier, or scintillation detectors. When the level of Pu is lower than 10 g/g sample, radiometric techniques must be enhanced by preliminary extraction of the Pu to concentrate the Pu and separate it from other radioisotopes (121,122). Alternatively, fission—fragment track detection can detect Pu at a level of 10 g/g sample or better (123). Chemical concentration of Pu from urine, neutron irradiation in a research reactor, followed by fission track detection, can achieve a sensitivity for Pu of better than 1 mBq/L (4 X 10 g/g sample) (124). 

Examinations of the same and of other lead-bearing samples for spontaneous fission events with large proportional counters in Dubna seemed to confirm these findings, but further measurements [37] of thin samples sandwiched between two plastic fission-track detectors showed that the events were background caused by cosmic-ray induced reactions of lead. Other groups [38] found no evidence for spontaneous fission activities in lead and other samples at a lower detection limit of 10" 3 g/g achieved with the sandwich technique. Even lower limits down to 10"17 g/g can be reached by etching... 

The detection techniques applied in those early attempts were often surprisingly simple searches for spontaneous fission activities. The whole product mixture was collected on a catcher foil and exposed to mica, glass or polymer sheets to produce tracks of spontaneous fission events. By quickly rotating the catcher between detector foils during bombardment, this technique allows the detection of short-lived nuclides down to millisecond half-lives [88],... 

During the experimental studies of chemical properties of transactinides early approaches exploited the possibility to detect spontaneous fission in thermochromatographic columns by mica or quartz track detectors at temperatures below 400°C, while more modern setups employ Si detectors to register a decay or spontaneous fission at room temperature and below (liquid nitrogen). Then, the technique, however, is limited to the study of highly volatile atoms or compounds. 

A more common technique employs a nuclear emulsion to detect the radiation. The sample is irradiated in close proximity to a sensitive emulsion, which is subsequently developed, fixed, and examined under the microscope. In this way it is possible to distinguish tracks due to alpha particles, fission fragments, etc. Faraggi et al. 22) and Mayr 54) used this technique to determine boron by the B (n,a)Lr reaction down to a level of 2 X 10" gm. Lithium at the 10" -gm level was determined by Picciotto and van Styvendael 69) by the reaction Li (n.,a)H and Curie and Faraggi 18) studied the distribution of uranium in the surface of polished mineral specimens by the U (n,/) reaction. 

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