Ion source for ion beam deposition employing a novel electrode assembly

A rf inductively coupled ion source employing a novel electrode assembly for focusing a broad ion beam on a relatively small target area was developed. The primary application of this ion source is the deposition of thin films used in the fabrication of magnetic sensors and optical devices. The ion optics consists of a three-electrode set of multiaperture concave dished grids with a beam extraction diameter of 150 mm. Also described is a variation in the design providing a beam extraction diameter of 120 mm. Grid hole diameters and grid spacing were optimized for low beamlet divergence and low grid impingement currents. The radius of curvature of the grids was optimized to obtain an optimally focused ion beam at the target location. A novel grid fabrication and mounting design was employed which overcomes typical limitations of such grid assemblies, particularly in terms of maintaining optimum beam focusing conditions after multiple cycles of operation. Ion beam generation with argon and xenon gases in energy ranges from 0.3 to 2.0 keV was characterized. For operation with argon gas, beam currents greater than 0.5 A were obtained with a beam energy of 800 eV. At optimal beam formation conditions, beam profiles at distances about equal to the radius of curvature were found to be close to Gaussian, with 99.9% of the beam current located within a 150 mm target diameter. Repeatability of the beam profile over long periods of operation is also reported. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(00)67902-9].