It is shown that the surface of an epitaxial graphene monolayer grown on Ru(0001) could be used as a quite efficient external mirror for He-atom microscopy, with a specular reflectivity of $20\%$ of the incident beam. Furthermore, the system is stable up to 1150 K, and the He reflectivity remains almost unchanged after exposure to air. Additionally, the high reflectivity for ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ molecules (11%) opens up the development of a ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ microprobe suitable for lithography. The Debye temperature for this epitaxial graphene monolayer has been determined from a study of the temperature dependence of the He specular intensity as a function of incident parameters. A value of 1045 K has been obtained, which is much higher than the 590 K reported for graphite under similar conditions, and close to the value of 1287 K calculated for isolated graphene.

• Received 1 March 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.84.035450