Graphene stripper foils

Thin carbon and metal foils have been used in heavy ion accelerators for charge stripping. The power dissipated by a particle beam in a foil can be as high as 3 kW or greater, which results in short lifetimes of conventional stripper foils. Graphene stripper foils can overcome critical limitations of other materials due to a unique combination of their exceptional physical properties. The authors have fabricated graphene foils with diameters up to 13 cm and area densities of 0.1 to 3.0 mg/cm2 by reduction of graphene oxide in an aqueous dispersion followed by pressure filtration. The foils were characterized by a number of analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and proved their superior mechanical and thermal properties. Preliminary ion beam tests showed that the graphene stripper foils possess up to four times longer lifetime, as opposed to conventional carbon foils.