Characterization of reduced Graphene oxide films used as stripper foils in a 3.0-Mv Tandetron

Abstract

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films can be employed as thin ion strippers in an accelerator. They show some advantages with respect to the graphite foils, due to their high thermal and electrical conductivities, low density, high mechanical resistance and high stability. The preparation method of the graphene-based films and their physical characterization are presented and discussed. Thin graphene oxide (GO) films with a thickness of from 0.5 up to 2.0 μm have been synthesized and studied to be used as an ion extractor (stripper) in the 3.0 MV Tandetron of the CANAM Laboratory at the Nuclear Physics Institute in Rez, Czech Republic. GO is transformed to rGO also by low ion beam doses. Measurements of stripper efficiency, as the ion transmission factor of films, have been carried out by accelerating different ions, from helium to carbon, having energies from 1.0 up to 16 MeV, and by using different charge states and a current density ranging between about 10 nA/cm2 and 2 μA/cm2. The ion fluence at which the so-obtained graphene oxide films can be undergone exceeds a dose of 1 × 1016 particles/cm2. Furthermore, these stripper films have demonstrated a significantly high charge production, comparable to that of the graphite films. However, the higher mechanical resistance represents an undiscussed advantage with respect to the graphite films.