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Surface damage produced by single MeV-GeV heavy ions impacting ultrathin polymer films has been shown to be weaker than those observed under bulk (thick film) conditions. The decrease in damage efficiency has been attributed to the suppression of long-range effects arising from excited atoms lying deeply in the solid. This raises the possibility that the substrate of the films itself may be relevant to the radiation effects seen at the top surface. Here, the role of the substrate on cratering induced by individual 1.1 GeV Au ions in ultrathin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) layers is investigated. Materials of different thermal and electrical properties (Si, SiO2, and Au) are used as substrates to deposit PMMA thin films of various thicknesses from ∼1 to ∼300 nm. We show that in films thinner than ∼40 nm craters are modulated by the underlying substrate to a degree that depends on the transport properties of the medium. Crater size in ultrathin films deposited on the insulating SiO2 is larger than in similar films deposited on the conducting Au layer. This is consistent with an inefficient coupling of the electronic excitation energy to the atomic cores in metals. On the other hand, the damage on films deposited on SiO2 is not very different from the Si substrate with a native oxide layer, suggesting, in addition, poor energy transmission across the film/substrate interface. The experimental observations are also compared to calculations from an analytical model based on energy addition and transport from the excited ion track, which describe only partially the results.

Monoclinic BiVO4 (BVO) properties favor its use as the main absorber in photoanodes applied for photoelectrochemical water splitting. However, hindrances as the high rate of recombination of the electrons and holes photogenerated and as the poor charge carrier transport limit its direct, practical use. Doping, building a heterojunction with other semiconductors and decorating the surface with catalysts like cobalt phosphate and ruthenium oxide are among the many existing approaches to improve BVO performance. The deposition of catalyst or cocatalyst normally involve the use of potentially hazardous techniques as chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In this work, we present a simple route for enhancing photoelectrochemical results in BVO samples. The decoration with metallic ruthenium is performed via magnetron sputtering DC, a reliable, inexpensive and safe-to-use physical deposition technique, followed by a thermal treatment in air within a muffle furnace for 6 h at 400 °C. A gain of about 45% in the photocurrent at 1.23 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and in the overall spectrum area in comparison with pristine BVO samples was registered by cyclic voltammetry measurements in a 0.5 M phosphate buffer solution under full spectrum illumination from a 100 W Xenon lamp. The morphological and chemical modifications that resulted in such photocurrent rise were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray Photogenerated Spectroscopy (XPS).

The influence of the charge state q on surface modifications induced by the impact of individual fast, heavy ions on muscovite mica was investigated. Beams of 593 MeV 197Auq+ with well-defined initial charge states over a relatively broad range of values (30 to 51) and at different irradiation geometries were used. At normal incidence, the impact features are rounded protrusions (hillocks) with ≳20 nm in diameter. At grazing angles, besides the hillocks, craters and elongated tails (up to 350 nm-long) extending along the direction of ion penetration are produced. It is shown that the impact features at normal incidence depend strongly on the initial charge state of the projectiles. This dependence is very weak at grazing angles as the ion reaches the equilibrium charge state closer to the surface. At normal ion incidence, the hillock volume scales with q3.3±0.6. This dependence stems largely from the increase in the hillock height, as a weak dependence of the diameter was observed.

Journal of applied physics 130(10), 105303 (2021). doi:10.1063/5.0060445, The effects of ion irradiation on the surface and the subsurface of synthetic diamonds were characterized by using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray reflectivity, electron backscatter diffraction, and resistivity measurements. Irradiation experiments with 14 MeV Au$^{6+}$ ions with fluences up to 2.4 �� 10$^{15}$ ions/cm$^2$ were carried out on synthetic single crystal diamonds, grown either at high pressure or by chemical vapor deposition, and on polycrystalline samples with high boron concentrations. We show that the ion irradiation-induced changes to the surface and subsurface of diamonds are rather complex and, especially in the first few nanometers, more severe than generally considered. We establish a model describing the changes in density, defect concentration, topology, crystallinity, and bonding from the surface down to the first few micrometers of the irradiated diamond, Published by American Inst. of Physics, Melville, NY

The stopping power and straggling of backscattered protons on nanometric Pt films were measured at low to medium energies (60-250 keV) by using the medium-energy ion scattering technique. The stopping power results are in good agreement with the most recent measurements by Primetzhofer Phy s. Rev. B 86, 094102 (2012) and are well described by the free electron gas model at low projectile energies. Nevertheless, the straggling results are strongly underestimated by well-established formulas up to a factor of two. Alternatively, we propose a model for the energy-loss straggling that takes into account the inhomogeneous electron-gas response, based on the electron-loss function of the material, along with bunching effects. This approach yields remarkable agreement with the experimental data, indicating that the observed enhancement in energy-loss straggling is due to bunching effects in an inhomogeneous electron system. Nonlinear effects are of minor importance for the energy-loss straggling.

A comprehensive study of sillenite Bi12SiO20 single-crystal properties, including elastic stiffness and piezoelectric coefficients, dielectric permittivity, thermal expansion and molar heat capacity, is presented. Brillouin-interferometry measurements (up to 27 GPa), which were performed at high pressures for the first time, and ab initio calculations based on density functional theory (up to 50 GPa) show the stability of the sillenite structure in the investigated pressure range, in agreement with previous studies. Elastic stiffness coefficients c 11 and c 12 are found to increase continuously with pressure while c 44 increases slightly for lower pressures and remains nearly constant above 15 GPa. Heat-capacity measurements were performed with a quasi-adiabatic calorimeter employing the relaxation method between 2 K and 395 K. No phase transition could be observed in this temperature interval. Standard molar entropy, enthalpy change and Debye temperature are extracted from the data. The results are found to be roughly half of the previous values reported in the literature. The discrepancy is attributed to the overestimation of the Debye temperature which was extracted from high-temperature data. Additionally, Debye temperatures obtained from mean sound velocities derived by Voigt-Reuss averaging are in agreement with our heat-capacity results. Finally, a complete set of electromechanical coefficients was deduced from the application of resonant ultrasound spectroscopy between 103 K and 733 K. No discontinuities in the temperature dependence of the coefficients are observed. High-temperature (up to 1100 K) resonant ultrasound spectra recorded for Bi12 MO20 crystals revealed strong and reversible acoustic dissipation effects at 870 K, 960 K and 550 K for M = Si, Ge and Ti, respectively. Resonances with small contributions from the elastic shear stiffness c 44 and the piezoelectric stress coefficient e 123 are almost unaffected by this dissipation.

Arsenic profiles in plasma doped silicon wafers were traced by scattering of H+ and H-2(+) ions at medium energies. Two wafers were doped with the same bias, gas pressure, total implanted dose and AsH3 concentration. After implantation, the wafers were submitted to industrial cleaning processes, resulting in the formation of a surface SiO2 layer, and one wafer was subjected to an additional thermal treatment. Scattering spectra of single and molecular ion beams with the same energy per nucleon and charge state differed only by the energy broadening due to the break-up of the molecule, allowing depth profiling by calculation of the dwell time before the backscattering collision. For the SiO2 layers of these samples a density reduction of, on average, 13% was observed, compared to thermally grown SiO2. In addition, the arsenic depth-profile determined were in close agreement with independent findings obtained by electron techniques.

Mg/Ti order/disorder and the lattice dynamics of orthorhombic pseudobrookite-type MgTi 2 O 5 have been studied by experiment and modeling. A mechanochemical activation by high speed ball milling allowed us to synthesize pure MgTi 2 O 5 from MgO and TiO 2 anatase at a comparatively low temperature of 1173 K. The Mg/Ti order of MgTi 2 O 5 was characterized by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Density functional theory calculations based on fully ordered MgTi 2 O 5 allow an assignment of all experimentally observed Raman and infrared modes and a re-evaluation of earlier findings. A standard entropy of 134.24 J mol −1 K −1 and a bulk modulus of 161(1) GPa was predicted for fully ordered MgTi 2 O 5 and is in good agreement with experimental findings based on quasi-adiabatic calorimetry of samples with different Mg/Ti ordering states and earlier high pressure studies, respectively. A linear relation of the B 1 g (5) Raman blue-shift with the Mg/Ti disorder was observed, which can be used to rapidly quantify the ordering state of MgTi 2 O 5 .

The monazite-type solid solution La 1 − x Pr x PO 4 was synthesized by solid-state reaction and extensively investigated using electron microprobe and thermogravimetric analyses, differential scanning and high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry, powder X-ray diffraction, infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Lattice parameters and Ln-O bond lengths show a decrease with increasing Pr content. A small excess volume is observed for the solid solution. IR spectra of the solid solution members present no detectable differences, while a blue shift of the PO4-related modes is seen in the Raman data. This shift can be attributed to the lanthanide contraction. Within errors, calorimetry data show no systematic deviation from an ideal behavior, though one might interpret the data as an indication of a slightly asymmetric mixture. All data indicate that deviations from ideality of the solid solution – if present – are very small.

Controlling the size and shape of metallic colloids is crucial for a number of nanotechnological applications ranging from medical diagnosis to electronics. Yet, achieving tunability of morphological changes at the nanoscale is technically difficult and the structural modifications made on nanoparticles generally are irreversible. Here, we present a simple nonchemical method for controlling the size of metallic colloids in a reversible manner. Our strategy consists of applying hydrostatic pressure on a Ca cationic sublattice embedded in the irradiated matrix of CaF2 containing a large concentration of defects. Application of our method to CaF2 along with in situ optical absorption of the Ca plasmon shows that the radii of the Ca nanoparticles can be reduced with an almost constant rate of −1.2 nm/GPa up to a threshold pressure of ∼9.4 GPa. We demonstrate recovery of the original nanoparticles upon decompression of the irradiated matrix. The mechanisms for reversible nanocolloid-size variation are analyzed with first-principles simulations. We show that a pressure-driven increase in the binding energy between fluorine centers is responsible for the observed nanoparticle shrinkage. We argue that the same method can be used to generate other metallic colloids (Li, K, Sr, and Cs) with tailored dimensions by simply selecting an appropriate matrix., J.R.-F. and V.M. acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the Juan de la Cierva program IJCI-2014-20513 and FJCI-2016-27921, respectively. C.C. acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council under the Future Fellowship funding scheme (No. FT140100135). Computational resources and technical assistance were provided by the Australian Government and the Government of Western Australia through the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) and Magnus under the National Computational Merit Allocation Scheme and The Pawsey Supercomputing Centre. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 829161.

Non-planar Fin Field Effect Transistors (FinFET) are already present in modern devices. The evolution from the well-established 2D planar technology to the design of 3D nanostructures rose new fabrication processes, but a technique capable of full characterization, particularly their dopant distribution, in a representative (high statistics) way is still lacking. Here we propose a methodology based on Medium Energy Ion Scattering (MEIS) to address this query, allowing structural and compositional quantification of advanced 3D FinFET devices with nanometer spatial resolution. When ions are backscattered, their energy losses unfold the chemistry of the different 3D compounds present in the structure. The FinFET periodicity generates oscillatory features as a function of backscattered ion energy and, in fact, these features allow a complete description of the device dimensions. Additionally, each measurement is performed over more than thousand structures, being highly representative in a statistical meaning. Finally, independent measurements using electron microscopy corroborate the proposed methodology.

International audience; Abstract Damaged regions of cylindrical shapes called ion tracks, typically in nano-meters wide and tens micro-meters long, are formed along the ion trajectories in many insulators, when high energy ions in the electronic stopping regime are injected. In most cases, the ion tracks were assumed as consequences of dense electronic energy deposition from the high energy ions, except some cases where the synergy effect with the nuclear energy deposition plays an important role. In crystalline Si (c-Si), no tracks have been observed with any monomer ions up to GeV. Tracks are formed in c-Si under 40 MeV fullerene (C 60 ) cluster ion irradiation, which provides much higher energy deposition than monomer ions. The track diameter decreases with decreasing the ion energy until they disappear at an extrapolated value of ~ 17 MeV. However, here we report the track formation of 10 nm in diameter under C 60 ion irradiation of 6 MeV, i.e., much lower than the extrapolated threshold. The diameters of 10 nm were comparable to those under 40 MeV C 60 irradiation. Furthermore, the tracks formed by 6 MeV C 60 irradiation consisted of damaged crystalline, while those formed by 40 MeV C 60 irradiation were amorphous. The track formation was observed down to 1 MeV and probably lower with decreasing the track diameters. The track lengths were much shorter than those expected from the drop of S e below the threshold. These track formations at such low energies cannot be explained by the conventional purely electronic energy deposition mechanism, indicating another origin, e.g., the synergy effect between the electronic and nuclear energy depositions, or dual transitions of transient melting and boiling.

The formation conditions and dynamics of Ca colloids and point defects that appear in irradiated single crystals of CaF2 were investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The intensity changes in the Raman spectra because of the presence of different concentrations of point defects and Ca colloids that emerged in CaF2 after irradiation with 2.2 GeV Au ions were used to study their distribution and stability under illumination with three laser wavelengths (473, 532 and 633 nm) at different output powers (2 to 200 mW). A damage saturation at a fluence of 6 × 1011 ion cm−2 was observed. The dependence of the spectral changes on the ion fluence can be described by a core/halo damage cross-section model. A radius of 13–18 nm was obtained for the outer (halo) cylinder, in agreement with previous swelling studies. Illuminations of irradiated samples with blue (473 nm) and green (532 nm) lasers were found to be extremely efficient in bleaching the samples, while illumination with a red (633 nm) laser did not lead to a sample recovery. This indicates that the bleaching process is governed by recombination of point defects that have to overcome an energy barrier. Typical time constants for the processes involved are presented. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Samples of steel, fused silica, CaF2, NaCl, and a (La,Eu)PO4 monazite ceramic were irradiated with Bi-209 (130 GeV) and U-238 (60 GeV) ions up to total fluences of 6 x 10(11) cm(-2). During beam exposure, resonant ultrasound spectra were recorded. No radiation-induced changes in the density and elastic stiffness coefficients were observed when comparing samples before and after irradiation. The irradiation caused fully reversible shifts of the resonance frequencies in all samples except NaCl, silica and monazite irradiated with U ions. These reversible shifts are due to a temperature increase during irradiation. The heating process was modelled quantitatively by an energy balance model. The average thickness traversed by the ions was estimated from geometrical considerations and the energy deposition was calculated with the SRIM software. The results from the model and these calculations are in good agreement. For NaCl, silica and monazite, a degradation of the samples was observed. Hence, in situ Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy can be used to monitor sample integrity and temperatures in harsh radiation environments. (C) 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determination of efficiencies for particle detection plays a central role for proper estimation of reaction rates. If chemical etching is employed in the revelation of latent particle tracks in solid-state detectors, dissolution rates and etchable lengths are important factors governing the revelation and observation. In this work, the mask method, where a reference part of the sample is protected during dissolution, was employed to measure step heights in basal sections of apatite etched with a nitric acid, HNO $$_3$$ , solution at a concentration of 1.1 M and a temperature of 20 °C. We show a drastic increase in the etching velocity as the number of etch pits in the surface augments, in accordance with the dissolution stepwave model, where the outcrop of each etch pit generates a continuous sequence of stepwaves. The number of etch pits was varied by irradiation with neutrons and perpendicularly incident heavy ions. The size dependence of the etch-pit opening with etching duration for ion (200–300 MeV 152Sm and 238U) tracks was also investigated. There is no distinction for the etch pits between the different ions, and the dissolution seems to be governed by the opening velocity when a high number of etch pits are present in the surface. Measurements of the etchable lengths of these ion tracks show an increase in these lengths when samples are not pre-annealed before irradiation. We discuss the implications of these findings for fission-track modelling.

The external detector method (EDM) is a widely used technique in fission track thermochronology (FTT) in which two different minerals are concomitantly employed: spontaneous tracks are observed in apatite and induced ones in the muscovite external detector. They show intrinsic differences in detection and etching properties that should be taken into account. In this work, new geometry factor values, g , in apatite, were obtained by directly measuring the ρ ed /ρ is ratios and independently determined [ GQR ] ed/is values through the measurement of projected lengths. Five mounts, two of which were large area prismatic sections and three samples composed of random-orientation pieces have been used to determine the g -values. A side effect of applying EDM is that the value of the initial confined induced fission track, L 0 , is not measured in routine analyses. The L 0 -value is an important parameter to quantify with good confidence the degree of annealing of the spontaneous fission tracks in unknown-age samples, and is essential for accurate thermal history modeling. The impact of using arbitrary L 0 -values on the inference of sample thermal history is investigated and discussed. The measurement of the L 0 -value for each sample to be dated using an extra irradiated apatite mount is proposed. This extra mount can be also used for determining the g value as an extension of the ρ ed /ρ is ratio method. Eight apatite samples from crystalline basement, with grains at random orientation, were used to determine the g- values. The results found are statistically in agreement with the values found for apatite samples (from Durango, Mexico) measured in prismatic section and also measured at random orientation. There was no observable variation in efficiency regarding crystal orientation, showing that it is relatively safe using non-prismatic grains, especially in samples with paucity of grains, as it is the case of most basin samples. Implications for the ζ-calibration and for the calibration of the direct (spectrometer-based) fission-track dating are also discussed.

The working principle of the Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is the selective delivery of a greater amount of boron to the tumor cells than to the healthy ones, followed by the neutron irradiation that will induce the emission of α-particles and recoil 7 Li nuclei through the 10 B(n,α) 7 Li reaction. The objective of this work is to present a setup composed of a boron thin film coupled with CR-39. Alpha and 7 Li particle coming from the boron films are used to quantify neutron boron reaction and are detected by CR-39. The nuclei compounding of this detector, H, C and O, will undergo fast neutrons reactions, which will be detected in the CR-39 itself. In this way, the 10 B(n,α) 7 Li reaction and the contribution of fast neutrons to the flux can be determined at the same time. These measurements are essential for treatment planning as well as for studies of the biodistribution of 10 B-carrier drugs and tissue microdosimetry. The boron films were deposited on stainless steel substrates through the sputtering technique and irradiated with thermal neutrons at the reactor IEA-R1 located at IPEN, Sao Paulo/SP, Brazil. Here we show the first results on the characterization of these thin films and calibration of the proposed setup.

Zircon samples from the Cenozoic Sao Paulo and Taubate Basins and Mantiqueira Mountain Range (southeast Brazil) were concomitantly dated by zircon Fission Track Method (FTM) and in situ U–Pb dating method. While FTM detrital-zircon data are ideally used to provide low-temperature information, U–Pb single detrital grain ages record the time of zircon formation in igneous or high grade metamorphic environments. This methodology may be used to study the possible sources of the basins sediments. The results suggest that the Sao Paulo Basin is composed of sediments from just one source, the Mantiqueira Mountain Range. On the other hand, the Taubate Basin presents further sediment sources besides the Mantiqueira Mountain Range.

Slices of apatite (cut ∼45° apart from c -axis) were irradiated with 152 Sm ions and heated at different steps in order to investigate the thermal annealing property of tracks generated by these ions. The ions were impinged with 45° and ∼150 MeV at apatite surface. Samples were etched with diluted nitric acid. Results of annealed projected lengths are presented for isochronal 10, 100 and 1000 h thermal treatments (runs) for samples with and without pre-annealing preparation. For low annealing temperatures, a distinct behavior of these samples was observed: pre-annealed samples presented a faster annealing rate. At elevated temperatures, the behavior seems to be equal. A single activation energy model was fitted to data and the energy obtained is in agreement with literature. Finally, despite the different trend in comparison with annealing rates of confined fission tracks, extrapolation to geological timescales presents reasonable estimates, indicating small influence of surface effects and, in principle, the possibility to employ ion tracks as proxies for annealing kinetics.

Studies of zircon grains using optical microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been carried out to characterize the surface of natural zircon as a function of etching time. According to the surface characteristics observed using an optical microscope after etching, the zircon grains were classified as: (i) homogeneous; (ii) anomalous, and (iii) hybrid. Micro-Raman results showed that, as etching time increases, the crystal lattice is slightly altered for homogeneous grains, it is completely damaged for anomalous grains, and it is altered in some areas for hybrid grains. The SEM (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, EDS) results indicated that, independent of the grain types, where the crystallinity remains after etching, the chemical composition of zircon is approximately 33% SiO2:65% ZrO2 (standard natural zircon), and for areas where the grain does not have a crystalline structure, there are variations of ZrO2 and, mainly, SiO2. In addition, it is possible to observe a uniform surface density of fission tracks in grain areas where the determined crystal lattice and chemical composition are those of zircon. Regarding hybrid grains, we discuss whether the areas slightly altered by the chemical etching can be analyzed by the fission track method (FTM) or not. Results of zircon fission track and U-Pb dating show that hybrid and homogeneous grains can be used for dating, and not only homogeneous grains. More than 50 sedimentary samples from the Bauru Basin (southeast Brazil) were analyzed and show that only a small amount of grains are homogeneous (10%), questioning the validity of the rest of the grains for thermo-chronological evolution studies using zircon FTM dating.

Epidote etching anisotropy has been studied through step etching of 86 Kr (300 MeV) ion tracks. A slice of epidote natural monocrystal was taken from the (010) plane and then divided into five pieces. Each piece was then irradiated with ions whose incidence angles (zenith angles) were of 15°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 75° with respect to y -axis. The azimuthal angle of incidence of the ions was the same for the pieces 15°, 60°, 75° and 180° apart for the pieces 30° and 45°. Etching times were of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 min (HF 40%, 35 °C). The results show that etching velocities of ion tracks are higher in directions closer to the y -axis. The mean lengths of the ion tracks, regarding the angles, were of 23.14 ± 0.21 (15°); 19.89 ± 0.08 (30°); 19.39 ± 0.04 (45°) and 16.59 ± 0.10 μm (60°). Since no tracks were identified in the 75° aliquot it was assumed that the epidote has a critical angle, for recording of ion tracks with this mass/energy ratio, between 60° and 75°.

The main goal of this work is the study of latent fission track structure (or the associated defects density) analyzing the geometry evolution of etched tracks. In this way, measurements of diameter and cone angle for 235U fission tracks reaching soda-lime glass surface with normal incidence were made. These glasses were etched since very short etching time up to times around standard etching used for optical microscopy. The measurements were obtained using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Employing a geometrical model to describe track evolution in isotropic materials it was possible to conclude that the defect density in latent tracks can be considered constant along the fission fragment trajectory.

Measurements of alpha track etch-pit diameters (from a 241 Am source) are reported for CR-39, LR 115 and Makrofol detectors. The first detector was used to calibrate the source, whereas the possibility of alpha spectroscopy was investigated in the others. A 226 Ra source was also used for CR-39 to detect a higher energy (≈6.96 MeV). The data found for CR-39 are in agreement with previous results. LR 115 and Makrofol presented the characteristic Bragg peak, which indicates that these detectors can be used as alpha spectrometers. Finally, within the applied etching conditions, it was possible to observe energy detection windows for LR 115 and Makrofol. For the etching conditions employed in this work, maximum energy thresholds were found to be approximately 4.5 MeV and 3.7 MeV, for LR 115 and Makrofol, respectively. Therefore, our results indicate alpha particle tracks from plated-out radon progeny would be naturally excluded if these detectors were used to monitor environmental radon and its progeny, confirming previous results performed with different experimental conditions.

The resistance of radiation damage (latent fission tracks, metamictization) in minerals has been studied for decades. The aim of these studies is the employment of such materials as nuclear waste ceramics and thermo-geochronometers. The last is based on the knowledge of annealing kinetics and the Principle of Equivalent Time, which states that the reduction of damage by a thermal treatment (annealing) is independent from previous thermal history. We present preliminary results for reduction in projected length for fossil and pre-annealed apatite samples irradiated with 152 Sm ions (≈150MeV and 45°). It was found that projected length in fossil samples are more resistent to annealing.

Tracos latentes sao constituidos, em geral, por defeitos lineares gerados no processo de desaceleracao de ions em meios materiais. Para serem observados em um microscopio optico, estes tracos sao quimicamente revelados. Infelizmente, nenhum destes dois processos e completamente compreendido. Desta maneira, possiveis estudos para a compreensao destes processos sao discutidos. Alem disso, algumas de suas aplicacoes, como a termocronologia e a fabricacao de dispositivos TEMPOS, tambem sao apresentadas.

Fission tracks in glass samples are shortened when they experience thermal treatment. Consequently, the observable dimensions associated with track length also diminish. The dimension normally used to characterize track size is the mean diameter of the etched track at the surface, D. Another consequence of length shortening is the reduction of surface density, p, implying a reduction of the fission-track age. In this work, a kinetic model is developed to describe the relationship between fission-track mean diameter shortening and surface fission-track density reduction in glass samples, based on geometrical and etching hypotheses. The result is a two-parameter equation given by in which h is the thickness of the layer removed during etching and n is a parameter related to the latent track geometry and etching reaction rate. The equation was compared with experimental data on Australite glass found in the literature and with fresh data on Macusanite glass presented in this work. The model fits the experimental curves quite well, showing that it describes the etching effects correctly (within its limitations). In addition, the model equation derived in this work can be very useful in age correction of partially annealed glass samples.

In callitrichids, and especially in the Callithrix and Saguinus genera, reproductive suppression maintains the breeding exclusivity of dominant females. It has been suggested that dominance may be inferred from agonistic behavior of females. The purpose of this study was to assess the adequacy of behaviors as indicators of hormonal status in Callithrix jacchus females. Two pairs of twin females were observed for affiliative, agonistic and sexual behaviors for 20 weeks, in four stages of increasingly potential competition for one male. During the same period, blood samples were taken regularly for progesterone determination by ELISA. The two pairs differed markedly as to behaviors and hormonal status: pair 1 showed a well established behavioral dominance and only one ovulating female from the beginning of the observation period; pair 2 showed competition for dominance until the last stage of observation, when one of the females started ovulating. Correlations between behaviors and progesterone levels showed differences between subordinate and dominant females mostly in pair 2. Although limited in number of animals studied, these results suggest that there is a relationship between behavior and hormones in female marmosets, but this relationship may be useful in the identification of the physiological status of females only in groups where the dominance is not well established.