Recent advances in vacuum arc ion sources
Intense beams of metal ions can be formed from a vacuum arc ion source. Broadbeam extraction is convenient, and the time-averaged ion beam current delivered downstream can readily be in the tens of milliamperes range. The vacuum arc ion source has for these reasons found good application for metallurgical surface modification--it provides relatively simple and inexpensive access to high dose metal ion implantation. Several important source developments have been demonstrated recently, including very broad beam operation, macroparticle removal, charge state enhancement, and formation of gaseous beams. The authors have made a very broad beam source embodiment with beam formation electrodes 50 cm in diameter, producing a beam of width {approximately}35 cm for a nominal beam area of {approximately}1,000 cm{sup 2}, and a pulsed Ti beam current of about 7 A was formed at a mean ion energy of {approximately}100 keV. Separately, they`ve developed high efficiency macroparticle-removing magnetic filters and incorporated such a filter into a vacuum arc ion source so as to form macroparticle-free ion beams. Jointly with researchers at the High Current Electronics Institute at Tomsk, Russia, and the Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung at Darmstadt, Germany, they`ve developed a compact technique for increasing the charge states of ions produced in the vacuum arc plasma and thus providing a simple means of increasing the ion energy at fixed extractor voltage. Finally, operation with mixed metal and gaseous ion species has been demonstrated. Here, they briefly review the operation of vacuum marc ion sources and the typical beam and implantation parameters that can be obtained, and describe these source advances and their bearing on metal ion implantation applications.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Department of Defense, Washington, DC (United States); Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 132776
- Report Number(s):
- LBL--37043; CONF-950938--1; ON: DE96002321; CNN: Grant 8042-03; Contract ARO-110-93
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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