Track membranes based on a 20-$\mu$m-thick polyethylene terephthalate film obtained with a beam of argon ions having a range shorter than the film thickness

The possibility of performing an energy-efficient variant of irradiation of 20-$\mu$m-thick polyethylene terephthalate films to obtain track membranes was considered. Irradiation was done on both sides of a film with a beam of 53.4-MeV Ar$^{+8}$ ions having energy insufficient for a through track to be formed. The characteristics of the resulting track membrane samples were studied. It was found that these membranes can be used in some cases as a basis for fabrication of composite gas-separating membranes.