Cosmic Radiation Detection by Solid State Nuclear Track Detector Technique

Abstract

Passive Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) have been employed successfully during the past two decades in space radiation studies due to their excellent physico-chemical properties. They are useful for charged particle detection in the linear energy transfer (LET) range above the threshold value of ~10 keV μm-1. It was applicable for measurement of cosmic ray primary and secondary particles, including recoil nuclei, projectile and target fragments and secondary neutrons in past projects such as DOSMAP, BRADOS, ALTCRISS, Matroshka or recently in progress as SPD, DOSIS, as well as, in ground based experiment as Icchiban. The continuous development in the understanding of the track formation mechanism and improvement of detection techniques have resulted in the determination of the cosmic ray LET spectrum with less uncertainties and provided improved assessment of the dose burden of astronauts and helped to increase the effectiveness of radiation shielding of spaceships. Space dosimetry by nuclear track methodology stresses the advantages of passive systems for cosmic radiation field studies due to their robustness, compact dimensions, and complete independence from external power supply. SSNTDs cope also with requirement imposed by portable area monitoring or personal dose integrator to assess radiation risk of astronauts during intra or extra-vehicular activity. This review tries to provide a short summary about fundamentals and applications of space radiation studies using SSNTDs.Contents of Paper