Can we use graphene as a conversion surface for a neutral particle detector?

<p>An important technique of modern space plasma diagnostics is a detection and imaging of low energy (below 10 keV) energetic neutral atoms (ENA). Any space mission devoted to study of the planetary plasma environments, planetary magnetospheres and heliosphere boundaries, needs a low energy ENA imaging sensor in its payload list. A common approach to the ENA detection/imaging is to make energetic neutral atoms glance a high quality conductive surface and either produce a secondary electron, or produce a positive or negative reflection ion. In the first case we can collect and detect the yielded secondary electron and generate a start signal. The reflected neutral atom can be directed to another surface with a high secondary electron yield. Thus we can measure a time-of-flight of the reflected particle to get its velocity. In the second case we can analyze the reflected ion in an electrostatic analyzer to get the particle energy.</p><p>Many types of conversion surfaces have been investigated over last decades in order to optimize an ENA sensor properties. We investigated properties of a thin layer of graphene applied to a silicon wafer surface. The experimental setup consisted of a secondary electron detector, neutral/ions separator and a high resolution particle imager. We used an incident He beam with energy of 200 eV - 3000 eV. We obtained a secondary electron emission, particle reflection efficiency, scattering properties, and a positive ion production rate as a function of the incident beam energy and the grazing angle. The experiment results show that 1) Graphene is a good source of secondary electrons even for low energy incident particles; 2) ENA scatter from the graphene surface similar to other surface types; 3) Graphene does not convert incident ENA to positive ions, especially for high grazing angles.</p>