Detection of Space Charge Effect During Ion Implantation

An ion implanter, comprising:

• an ion source to generate an ion beam;
• a process chamber, comprising:
• a platen configured to move in a first direction such that an entirety of a workpiece disposed on the platen is implanted by the ion beam;
• and
• one or more current sensors in a path of the ion beam downstream from the platen to measure beam current;
• one or more beamline components to direct the ion beam toward the process chamber;
• and
• a controller, to receive beam current measurements from the one or more current sensors and an associated scan position for each beam current measurement, wherein the controller is configured to calculate a height of the ion beam based on the beam current measurements and the associated scan positions.

A method of monitoring and controlling an operation of an ion implanter, comprising:

• using the ion implanter to measure a beam current of an ion beam being directed toward a workpiece as a function of scan position as the workpiece is being implanted and scanned in a scanning direction;
• transmitting data from the ion implanter to a remote monitoring system;
• and
• using the data to provide an appropriate corrective action from the remote monitoring system to the ion implanter.