Intense heavy ion beam-induced effects in carbon-based stripper foils

Amorphous carbon or carbon-based stripper foils are commonly applied in accelerator technology for electron stripping of ions. At the planned facility for antiproton and ion research (FAIR) at the Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Darmstadt, thin carbon stripper foils provide an option for directly delivering ions of intermediate charge states to the heavy ion synchrotron, SIS 18, in order to mitigate space charge limitations during high-intensity operation. In case of desired high end-energies in the synchrotron, a second stripping process by a thicker carbon foil provides ions of higher charge states for injection into the SIS18. High beam intensities and a pulsed beam structure as foreseen at FAIR pose new challenges to the stripper foils which experience enhanced degradation by radiation damage, thermal effects, and stress waves. In order to ensure reliable accelerator operation, radiation-hard stripper foils are required. This thesis aims to a better understanding of processes leading to degradation of carbon-based thin foils. Special focus is placed on ion-beam induced structure and physical property changes and on the influence of different beam parameters. Irradiation experiments were performed at the M3-beamline of the universal linear accelerator (UNILAC) at GSI, using swift heavy ion beams with different pulse lengths and repetition rates. Tested carbon foils were standard amorphous carbon stripper foils produced by the GSI target laboratory, as well as commercial amorphous and diamond-like carbon foils and buckypaper foils. Microstructural changes were investigated with various methods such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), profilometry and chromatic aberration measurements. For the investigation of structural changes X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), in-situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) were used. The changes of physical properties, in particular the electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity and stiffness of the foils were studied by in-situ 4-point probe, laser flash analysis and atomic force microscopy, respectively. A technique for measuring temperature of very thin, semitransparent and free-standing stripper foils during irradiation by means of an infrared (IR) camera was developed and applied. The experimental investigations were complemented by molecular dynamics simulations of amorphous carbon exposed to different swift heavy ions. The simulations provide information on the structural changes in the tracks at atomic scale. Virtual amorphous carbon cells were created by simulating liquid quenching and plasma deposition, yielding cells with different degrees of clustering of sp2 and sp3 bonding. The impacts of swift heavy ions were modeled by an instantaneous energy deposition deduced from inelastic thermal spike model calculations. Results of experiments and simulations provide evidence for the beam-induced transformation of amorphous carbon to a defected graphitic structure and for clustering of sp2 and sp3 bonds. These structural changes result in severe property changes. The electrical and thermal properties of amorphous carbon seem to improve during beam exposure, but the mechanical properties degrade severely. The beam conditions have a strong influence on the evolution of induced structure and property changes. A better understanding of the response of (amorphous) carbon stripper foils to swift heavy ion beams as revealed by dedicated irradiation and characterization experiments performed within this thesis, provides criteria for material requirements for future stripper foils used in high-power heavy ion accelerators such as FAIR.