Some Aspects of the Application of Image Analysis to the Study of Fission Tracks

N. Petford* and J. A. Miller
Bullard Laboratories, Department of Earth Sciences, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK
*Present address: School of Geological Sciences, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, Surrey, KT1 2EE, UK

Abstract: Analysis and processing of electronic images generated using confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) provide a new means of counting and determining the angular distribution of fission tracks in crystalline solids. Using image analysis techniques, large numbers of fission tracks in external mica detectors can be counted rapidly, while measurement of aspect ratio and area of a track entry hole at its intersection with a surface can provide a means of assessing the angle of inclination of individual tracks within minerals and plastics. CSLM imaging, combined with image processing, offers a new and powerful way of probing the surfaces and interiors of crystalline materials. The techniques might also prove useful in the study of fluid inclusions and chemical zoning patterns in minerals.

Keywords: confocal microscopy • fission tracks • image analysis • external detectors

Mineralogical Magazine; June 1995 v. 59; no. 395; p. 197-201; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1995.059.395.04
© 1995, The Mineralogical Society
Mineralogical Society (www.minersoc.org)