Method of making an electron stripper foil

Abstract

Method includes providing a substrate layer, depositing a first layer along an exposed side of the substrate layer, and depositing a second layer along an exposed side of the first layer such that the first layer is disposed between the substrate layer and the second layer. One of the first or second layers is a backing layer and the other is a conductive layer. The first and second layers form a stripping sheet that is configured to strip electrons from charged particles passing through the stripping sheet. The method also includes removing at least a portion of the substrate layer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 providing a substrate layer;   depositing a first layer along an exposed side of the substrate layer;   depositing a second layer along an exposed side of the first layer such that the first layer is disposed between the substrate layer and the second layer, wherein one of the first or second layers is a backing layer and the other is a conductive layer, the first and second layers forming a stripping sheet that is configured to strip electrons from charged particles passing through the stripping sheet; and   removing at least a portion of the substrate layer.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein depositing the first layer and depositing the second layer use a same chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus in which one or more operating parameters are different for the first and second layers. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein depositing the first layer and depositing the second layer use a same chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus in which one or more operating parameters gradually change between depositing the first layer and depositing the second layer. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the operating parameters include at least one of a plasma discharge power, a composition of reactant gas, a composition of the substrate layer, a temperature of the substrate layer, an electrical bias of the substrate layer, a temperature of a filament, a flow rate of the reactant gas, or a system pressure. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stripping sheet has an outer edge, the method further comprising providing a support section that extends along at least a portion of the outer edge, the support section covering only a portion of the stripping sheet thereby allowing the charged particles to pass therethrough. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising depositing an intermediate layer, the intermediate layer being between the first and second layers and increasing adhesion between the first and second layers. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein depositing the first layer, depositing the intermediate layer, and depositing the second layer use a same chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus in which one or more operating parameters are different for each of the layers. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the backing layer includes synthetic diamond. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the conductive layer is deposited directly along the synthetic diamond or on an intermediate layer between the conductive layer and the synthetic diamond. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the synthetic diamond is a polycrystalline diamond (sp 3 -hybridized) and the conductive layer comprises electrically-conductive carbon layer. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the electrically-conductive carbon layer includes at least one of graphite, graphene, amorphous carbon, or diamond-like carbon (DLC). 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive layer is a first conductive layer, the method further comprising depositing a second conductive layer, wherein the backing layer is disposed between the first and second conductive layers. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive layer has a thickness that is at most 2000 nanometers and the backing layer has a thickness that is at most 50 micrometers. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive layer comprises an electrically-conductive carbon layer. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising depositing a support frame layer directly on at least one of the first conductive layer or the second conductive layer or directly on an intervening layer positioned between the support frame layer and the respective conductive layer.