Posted on May 6, 2005

Robert Fleischer, research professor of geology, has written an article, “Nuclear Tracks and Nanostructures,” which appears as Chapter 10 in Engineering Thin Films and Nanostructures with Ion Beams, a volume from CRC Press edited by Emile Knystautas.  The book concerns production of tiny structures on materials. Fleischer's article considers small structures that can be made using ions to form damage trails that are then made into permanent features in materials by chemical etching to create tiny holes. The paper describes how the tracks are made, and  the vast range of solids in which they can appear.