A system for controlling a high-power ion beam is disclosed, such as for steering, measuring, and/or dissipating the beam's power. In one embodiment, the ion beam can be controlled by being imparted into a cylindrical tube (e.g., a faraday cup), and deflected to strike an interior tube wall at an angle, thereby increasing an impact area of the beam on the wall. By also rotating the deflected beam around a circumference of the interior wall, the impact area of the ion beam may be further increased, thereby absorbing (dissipating) the high-power ion beam on the wall. In another embodiment, the ion beam may be passed through first, second, and third adjustable magnetic rings. By adjusting a relative angle between the rings and a combined rotation angle of all of the rings, a deflected ion beam may be rotated around a circumference of the interior wall of a power-absorbing tube, accordingly.

A planetary arm coupled to a tilt actuator moves a wafer in oscillatory motion along an arcuate path to expose a surface of the wafer to an incident ion beam for deposition and/or etching processing of thin film structures on the surface of the wafer. A wafer holder on an end of the planetary arm may be driven in rotation while the planetary arm executes oscillatory motion at a selected tilt angle relative to an incident ion beam. A slit support plate provides controllable exposure of the wafer to the incident beam. Embodiments are suitable for use in wafer deposition machines and/or wafer etching machines.

A soft-landing (SL) instrument for depositing ions onto substrates using a laser ablation source is described herein. The instrument of the instant invention is designed with a custom drift tube and a split-ring ion optic for the isolation of selected ions and is capable of operating at atmospheric pressure. The drift tube allows for the separation and thermalization of ions formed after laser ablation through collisions with an inert bath gas that allow the ions to be landed at energies below 1 eV onto substrates. The split-ring ion optic is capable of directing ions toward the detector or a landing substrate for selected components.

A single beam plasma or ion source apparatus, including multiple and different power sources, is provided. An aspect of the present apparatus and method employs simultaneous excitation of an ion source by DC and AC, or DC and RF power supplies. Another aspect employs an ion source including multiple magnets and magnetic shunts arranged in a generally E cross-sectional shape.

A system for controlling a high-power ion beam is disclosed, such as for steering, measuring, and/or dissipating the beam's power. In one embodiment, the ion beam can be controlled by being imparted into a cylindrical tube (e.g., a faraday cup), and deflected to strike an interior tube wall at an angle, thereby increasing an impact area of the beam on the wall. By also rotating the deflected beam around a circumference of the interior wall, the impact area of the ion beam may be further increased, thereby absorbing (dissipating) the high-power ion beam on the wall. In another embodiment, the ion beam may be passed through first, second, and third adjustable magnetic rings. By adjusting a relative angle between the rings and a combined rotation angle of all of the rings, a deflected ion beam may be rotated around a circumference of the interior wall of a power-absorbing tube, accordingly.

A method of extracting and accelerating ions is provided. The method includes providing a ion source. The ion source includes a chamber. The ion source further includes a first hollow cathode having a first hollow cathode cavity and a first plasma exit orifice and a second hollow cathode having a second hollow cathode cavity and a second plasma exit orifice, the first and second hollow cathodes being disposed adjacently in the chamber. The ion source further includes a first ion accelerator between and in communication with the first plasma exit orifice and the chamber. The first ion accelerator forms a first ion acceleration cavity. The ion source further includes a second ion accelerator between and in communication with the second plasma orifice and the chamber. The second ion accelerator forms a second ion acceleration cavity. The method further includes generating a plasma using the first hollow cathode and the second hollow cathode. The first hollow cathode and the second hollow cathode are configured to alternatively function as electrode and counter-electrode. The method further includes extracting and accelerating ions. Each of the first ion acceleration cavity and the second ion acceleration cavity are sufficient to enable the extraction and acceleration of ions.

The present invention relates to a filtered cathodic-arc ion source that reduces, or even eliminates, macroparticles while minimally compromising the compact size, simplicity, and high flux ion production benefits of unfiltered cathodic-arc sources. Magnetic and electrostatic forces are implemented in a compact way to guide ions along curved trajectories between the cathode source and the workpiece area such that macroparticles, which are minimally affected by these forces and travel in straight lines, are inhibited from reaching the workpieces. The present invention implements this filtering technique in a device that is compact, symmetrical and easy to manufacture and operate and which does not substantially compromise coating deposition rate, area, or uniformity.

An ion beam lens and methods for combining ion beams are disclosed. Embodiments combine hyperthermal ion beams and can include layered three-dimensional electrodes with passageways through the electrodes, each electrode having a specified DC voltage and each passageway configured for passing an ion beam to an exit, the velocity vectors of the beams being primarily oriented along the lens' central axis upon exiting the passageways. Embodiments include nested electrode plates with curved ion beam passageways. In some embodiments each electrode plate has a charge different from the electrode plates adjacent to it, and in some embodiments every other electrode plate is charged with a first DC voltage and the remaining plates are charged with a second DC voltage different from the first DC voltage.