Abstract:
This work aims to evaluate the application of optical and X-ray spectroscopy methods to
determine the effect of alpha-emitting radionuclides on the properties of solid-state nuclear track
detectors (SSNTD) based on nitrocellulose during their detection. The proposed estimation methods
are alternative methods to standard technologies, making it possible to determine the concentration
of radon and its decay products without the chemical etching of film detectors and subsequent direct
counting of the formed latent tracks from interacting particles. During the research, it was found
that the use of optical spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods makes it possible to qualitatively
determine the irradiation effect on changes in the properties of film detectors when α-particles
with different energies pass through them. At the same time, a comparison of the data of optical
spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and the visualization of latent tracks after chemical etching made
it possible to establish that a part of the registered α-particles in living quarters has an energy of
less than 2.5 MeV, which is not enough to pass through the polymer film of the detector, as a result
of which well-like tracks are formed. An increase in the intensity of the interference bands in the
region above 700 nm and a decrease in the intensity of diffraction reflection characterized the changes
in optical transmission. The penetration of the α-particles through the detecting film decreases the
film’s transmission capacity, forming an anisotropic change in diffraction reflections associated with
a change in the film’s structure and defective fractions distorting the molecular structure.
