Damage-free X-ray spectroscopy characterization of oxide thin films

Thin polymer or oxide films(link is external) are ubiquitous components in many devices, including membranes for filtration or electrodes in electrochemical energy storage(link is external). High energy electron(link is external) or x-ray probes for microscopy and spectroscopy are useful to characterize and understand these materials. However, irreversible damage by the probe radiation remains a challenge. Here, we show that graphene serves as an x-ray and electron transparent substrate that substantially reduces radiation damage of an oxide(link is external) thin film(link is external). We demonstrate this using highly focused x-ray beams, which show that compared to oxide(link is external) thin films supported on a substrate, graphene-supported regions show minimal changes in the x-ray spectra as a function of x-ray dose. These results pave the way for the development of experimental setups that allow for long exposure time measurements with limited sample damage and substrate-directed radiation patterning.