A study of etched track anisotropy in apatite

Abstract

The etched track work on samples cut from different planes of apatite crystal is carried out in order to study the anisotropic etching behaviour of the crystal. The variation of the etched pit characteristics with crystallographic orientations is observed. The effect of the anisotropic etching on the age determination is reported. The etching conditions are determined for different planes using HNO₃ as the track etchant.