Electron jet vapor deposition system
AssigneeJet Process Corporation
InventorBret Halpern
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas jet film deposition system includes a source of thermionically emitted electrons which are accelerated through carrier gas and generate He ions by impact ionization. The resultant electron avalanching and multiplication generates an extremely dense plasma, and produces large electron currents. The electron current is collected at a free, high electric field end of a crucible. The present system can generate vaporized evaporant which is entrained in the gas jet and thereby provide a high density source of ions. The ions may be presented to a substrate together with or without the evaporant.
Claims10
A gas jet system for vapor deposition of material upon a substrate, said system comprising:
- a vacuum chamber having a port allowing for access to a vacuum chamber interior;
- a means for positioning the substrate within said vacuum chamber interior at a substrate position;
- a gas jet apparatus affixed to said vacuum chamber port for depositing the material on said substrate by providing controlled entry of the material into the interior of the vacuum chamber, said gas jet apparatus including:
- a nozzle having an interior cavity for providing, from a nozzle tip, a supersonic jet of gas formed from a neutral plasma directed towards said substrate position;
- a means for providing the material within said nozzle interior cavity;
- a cathode means for providing electrons to said nozzle interior cavity;
- an electrical potential means for providing an electrical potential between said cathode and an anode causing said anode to become heated such that when said material is presented to said heated anode, said material is vaporized and substantially all of said vaporized material is directly entrained within said supersonic jet of gas and presented to said substrate;
- and
- a pump means for evacuating gas from said vacuum chamber to maintain a pressure in said vacuum chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.