Accurate alpha-particle stopping power measurements in graphenic carbon foils and their application to high-precision, non-destructive areal density determination

Abstract A precise, non-destructive method for determining the areal density of thin graphenic carbon (GC) foils via alpha-particle energy loss is presented. Two types of GC foils — sourced from KETEK GmbH and Applied Nanotech Inc. — were investigated using a three-isotope mixed alpha source emitting particles in the 5.0–5.8 $\textrm{MeV}$ range. Both foils have similar nominal areal densities of approximately $0.2\,\mathrm {mg\,cm^{-2}}$ , but differ slightly in chemical composition and mic