Ion source
AssigneeVarian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.
InventorsLudovic Godet, Svetlana Radovanov, Timothy J. Miller
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Abstract
An ion source includes an arc chamber having an extraction aperture, and a plasma sheath modulator. The plasma sheath modulator is configured to control a shape of a boundary between plasma and a plasma sheath proximate the extraction aperture. The plasma sheath modulator may include a pair of insulators positioned in the arc chamber and spaced apart by a gap positioned proximate the extraction aperture. A well focused ion beam having a high current density can be generated by the ion source. A high current density ion beam can improve the throughput of an associated process. The emittance of the ion beam can also be controlled.
Claims16
An ion source comprising:
- a plasma generated within an arc chamber having an extraction aperture;
- and
- a plasma sheath modulator configured to control a shape of a boundary between a plasma and a plasma sheath proximate the extraction aperture wherein the plasma sheath modulator comprises a pair of insulators defining a gap there between, and wherein the shape of the boundary about the gap is a concave shape.
A method of generating an ion beam from an ion source, the method comprising:
- generating a plasma in an arc chamber of the ion source having an extraction aperture;
- controlling a shape of a boundary between the plasma and a plasma sheath proximate the extraction aperture wherein the controlling operation comprises creating a gap defined by a pair of insulators, and wherein the shape of the boundary about the gap is a concave shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.