Analysis of latent tracks for MeV protons in CR-39

For protons of energy up to a few MeV, the temporal evolution of etched latent tracks in CR-39 nuclear track detector has been numerically modeled by assuming that the electronic energy loss of the protons governs the latent track formation. The technique is applied in order to obtain the energy spectrum of high intensity laser driven proton beams, with high accuracy. The precise measurement of the track length and areal track density have been achieved by scanning short etched, highly populated CR-39 employing atomic force microscope. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.