A new model has been developed to simulate etch-pit evolution by expressing it as wave propagation in a virtual 2D medium through numerical solutions of the wave equation. To simulate the latent tracks of vertically incident ions, a depth-varying phase velocity was calibrated to match experimentally determined track-etch rates; outside these tracks, the phase velocity was set to the bulk-etch-rate. Using protons, deuterons, and tritons as trial species, simulations were conducted under conditions where all ions stop within the medium. This model dynamically captures etch-pit growth through the conical, transition, and spherical phases. The resulting pit radius, depth, and wall geometry at specific layers of removed thickness align with the traditional two-velocity model. Furthermore, the model successfully differentiates the etch-pit profiles of the three hydrogen isotopes. By applying Huygens' principle, this method offers valuable insights into the basic mechanisms of etched track detectors for students and researchers alike. The growth dynamics of etch-pits were simulated by numerically solving the wave equation. Differences in etch-pit morphology revealed the isotope effect between hydrogen isotopes.
Seiichi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.