Rectangular beam (5 X 40 cm multipole ion source)

Abstract

A 5 x 40 cm rectangular-beam ion source was designed and fabricated. A multipole field configuration was used to facilitate design of the modular rectangular chamber, while a three-grid ion optics system was used for increased ion current densities. For the multipole chamber, a magnetic integral of 0.000056 Tesla-m was used to contain the primary electrons. This integral value was reduced from the initial design value, with the reduction found necessary for discharge stability. The final value of magnetic integral resulted in discharge losses at typical operating conditions which ranged from 600 to 1000 eV/ion, in good agreement with the design value of 800 eV/ion. The beam current density at the ion optics was limited to about 3.2 mA/sq cm at 500 eV and to about 3.5 mA/sq cm at 1000 ev. The effects of nonuniform ion current, dimension tolerance, and grid thermal warping were considered. The use of multiple rectangular-beam ion sources to process wider areas than would be possible with a single source (approx. 40 cm) was also studied. Beam profiles were surveyed at a variety of operating conditions and the results of various amounts of beam overlap calculated.