Ion irradiation tolerance of graphene as studied by atomistic simulations

As impermeable to gas molecules and at the same time transparent to high-energy ions, graphene has been suggested as a window material for separating a high-vacuum ion beam system from targets kept at ambient conditions. However, accumulation of irradiation-induced damage in the graphene membrane may give rise to its mechanical failure. Using atomistic simulations, we demonstrate that irradiated graphene even with a high vacancy concentration does not show signs of such instability, indicating a considerable robustness of graphene windows. We further show that upper and lower estimates for the irradiation damage in graphene can be set using a simple model.