The plasma is formed between electrodes to be energized from an electric power source, containing a partially ionized mass having a luminescence region including neutral atoms (NA), primary electrons (PE), secondary electrons (SE), and ions. The method comprises the steps of: accelerating the primary electrons (PE) toward one of said electrodes polarized by a positive high voltage pulse impacting primary electrons (PE) against said electrode and ejecting secondary electrons (SE) from it; subsequently, accelerating the secondary electrons (SE) toward the luminescence region by polarization of said electrode by a negative voltage to collide the secondary electrons with neutral atoms (NA) and producing positive ions (PI) and derived electrons (DE); repeating the previous steps in order to obtain a steady state plasma with a desired degree of ionization.

A compact two-dimensional (2D) scanning magnet for scanning ion beams is provided. The compact 2D scanning magnet may include a vertical field trapezoidal coil and a horizontal field trapezoidal coil that is disposed proximate to the vertical field trapezoidal coil and is rotated about an axis relative to the vertical field trapezoidal coil. The vertical field trapezoidal coil may include a top coil that is configured to receive a first input electrical current flowing in a first direction, and a bottom coil that is configured to receive a second input electrical current flowing in the first direction. The horizontal field trapezoidal coil may include a left coil that is configured to receive a third input electrical current flowing in a second direction, and a right coil that is configured to receive a fourth input electrical current flowing in the second direction.

The present disclosure relates to an ion beam etching (IBE) system including a process chamber. The process chamber includes a plasma chamber configured to provide plasma. In addition, the process chamber includes an accelerator grid having multiple accelerator grid elements including a first accelerator grid element and a second accelerator grid element. A first wire is coupled to the first accelerator grid element and configured to supply a first voltage to the first accelerator grid element. A second wire is coupled to the second accelerator grid element and configured to supply a second voltage to the second accelerator grid element, where the second voltage is different from the first voltage. A first ion beam through a first hole is controlled by the first accelerator grid element, and a second ion beam through a second hole is controlled by the second accelerator grid element.

An embodiment method includes depositing, in a processing chamber of a high-power impulse magnetron sputtering system, a metal containing layer over a substrate. The depositing includes applying a cyclic plurality of pulses. Each cycle includes applying a primary negative pulse on a target electrode to dislodge target atoms from the target electrode and a secondary positive pulse to accelerate the dislodged target atoms towards the substrate. The secondary positive pulse in one of the cycles is different from the secondary positive pulse in another one of the cycles.

Methods and apparatus for modulating a particle pulse include a succession of Hermite-Gaussian optical modes that effectively construct a three-dimensional optical trap in the particle pulse's rest frame. Optical incidence angles between the propagation of the particle pulse and the optical pulse are tuned for improved compression. Particles pulses that can be modulated by these methods and apparatus include charged particles and particles with non-zero polarizability in the Rayleigh regime. Exact solutions to Maxwell's equations for first-order Hermite-Gaussian beams demonstrate single-electron pulse compression factors of more than 100 in both longitudinal and transverse dimensions. The methods and apparatus are useful in ultrafast electron imaging for both single- and multi-electron pulse compression, and as a means of circumventing temporal distortions in magnetic lenses when focusing ultra-short electron pulses.

A body comprising at least two components having one or more different properties and a method of producing the same are disclosed. One of the body components is in the form of particles with optional adhesive interlayers. A second of the components has a surface locally melted in a predetermined pattern and only to a predetermined depth by scanning an electron beam there across to incorporate the particles and form a metal composite film. Thereby, a predetermined volumetric concentration of the incorporated particles varies continuously from the locally melted surface so as to provide two surfaces in the body having different coefficients of thermal expansion.

A structure analysis method using a scanning electron microscope includes irradiating a sample with an electron beam having a first landing energy to obtain a first image at a first depth of the sample and accelerating the electron beam to have a second landing energy higher than the first landing energy to obtain a second image at a second depth of the sample.

The present invention provides a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). In the STEM, a specimen is sandwiched between a variable axis objective lens and a variable axis collection lens. The axis of the collection lens varies along with the variation of the objective lens axis in a coordinated manner. The STEM of the invention exhibits technical merits such as large scanning field, high image resolution across the entire scanning field, and high throughput, among others.

A high-energy ion implantation system has an ion source and mass analyzer to form and analyze an ion beam along a beam path. A first RF LINAC accelerates the ion beam to a first accelerator exit, and a second RF LINAC accelerates the ion beam to a second accelerator exit along the beam path. A first magnet between the first and second RF LINACs alters the beam path along a first plane. A third RF LINAC accelerates the ion beam, and a second magnet between the second and third RF LINACs alters the beam path along a second plane. A beam shaping apparatus defines a shape of the ion beam, and a third magnet between the third RF LINAC beam shaping apparatus alters the beam path along a third plane, where the first, second, and third planes are not coplanar.

Provided is a charged particle beam apparatus capable of realizing a highly reliable insulating structure. This charged particle beam apparatus emits a charged particle beam from a charged particle beam emission device onto a sample, detects charged particles generated from the sample, and creates a sample image or processes the sample. The charged particle beam emission device is provided with a charged particle source and a shield arranged in an interior of a metal housing that is filled with an insulating gas, and an acceleration electrode arranged below the charged particle source, power being supplied to the acceleration electrode via the shield.