Ferrofluidic masking of solid state nuclear track detectors during etching

This work presents a novel method for determining bulk etch rate of CR-39 during prolonged etching by masking the surface with a ferrofluidic film held in position by magnetostatic forces. The CR-39 etching conditions were 6.25 M NaOH solution for 24 h at temperatures ranging from 50 to 80 degrees C. After etching, the heights of the resulting un-etched plateaus were measured using a Talyscan 150 profilometer. The removed layer thicknesses ranged from 12 to 85 mu m, giving corresponding bulk etch rates in the range 0.5-3.54 mu m/h. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.