Preparation and Property Investigation of Diamond-like Carbon Stripper Foil

The diamond-like carbon (DLC) stripper foils with 5.7 μg/cm² in thickness were produced by using the filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technology. The uniformity of the DLC stripper foils was measured by the XP2U balance. The results show that the maximum inhomongeneity of the DLC stripper foils in the range of 100 mm is less than 10%. The structures and properties of the DLC stripper foils were also evaluated and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atom force microscopy (AFM), tribometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The SEM, AFM images and wear test results show that the DLC stripper foils are smooth and tense, and contain hardly droplets through the double 90° filters. The X-ray photoelectron spectrum indicates the sp³ bonds of the DLC stripper foils exceed 70%. Irradiation lifetimes and the DLC stripper foils with 5.7 μg/cm² were tested and compared with the ¹⁰⁷Ag^-, ⁷⁰Ge^-, ⁴⁸Ti^-, ²⁸Si^-, ¹⁹⁷Au^- and ¹²⁷I^- ion beams at the Beijing HI-13 Tandem Accelerator. The results indicate that the lifetime of DLC stripper foil is 2.6-10 times than that of the carbon stripper foil.