An apparatus for obtaining ion energy distribution, IED, measurements in a plasma processing system, in one example, comprising a substrate for placement in the plasma processing system and exposed to the plasma, an ion energy analyser disposed in the substrate for measuring the ion energy distribution at the substrate surface during plasma processing, the analyser comprising a first conductive grid, a second conductive grid, a third conductive grid, a fourth conductive grid and a collection electrode, each grid separated by an insulation layer, a battery power supply and control circuitry, integrated in the substrate, for supplying and controlling voltage to each of the grids and the collector of the ion energy analyser; and a high voltage generating circuit.

An apparatus for obtaining ion energy distribution, TED, measurements in a plasma processing system, in one example, comprising a substrate for placement in the plasma processing system and exposed to the plasma, an ion energy analyser disposed in the substrate for measuring the ion energy distribution at the substrate surface during plasma processing, the analyser comprising a first conductive grid, a second conductive grid, a third conductive grid, a fourth conductive grid, and a collection electrode, each grid separated by an insulation layer, a battery power supply and control circuitry, integrated in the substrate, for supplying and controlling voltage to each of the grids and the collector of the ion energy analyser; wherein at least one insulation layer includes a peripheral portion which is of reduced thickness with respect to the remaining portion of the insulation layer.

Provided is a compact device which captures, over a large solid angle range, electrically charged particles emitted from a point source and parallelizes the trajectories of said charged particles. The present invention is configured from: an electrostatic lens comprising a plurality of axisymmetric electrodes (10-14) and an axisymmetric aspherical mesh (2) which has a surface that is concave away from the point source; and a flat collimator plate (3) positioned coaxially with the electrostatic lens. The acceptance angle for the electrically charged particles generated from a point source (7) is 30 or greater. The shape of the aspherical mesh (2), and the potentials and the positions of a ground electrode (10) and application electrodes (11-15) are adjusted so that the trajectories of the electrically charged particles are substantially parallelized by the electrostatic lens. The electrostatic lens and the flat collimator plate are positioned on a common axis.

An apparatus for obtaining ion energy distribution, IED, measurements in a plasma processing system, in one example, comprising a substrate for placement in the plasma processing system and exposed to the plasma, an ion energy analyser disposed in the substrate for measuring the ion energy distribution at the substrate surface during plasma processing, the analyser comprising a first conductive grid, a second conductive grid, a third conductive grid, a fourth conductive grid, and a collection electrode, each grid separated by an insulation layer, a battery power supply and control circuitry, integrated in the substrate, for supplying and controlling voltage to each of the grids and the collector of the ion energy analyser; wherein at least one insulation layer includes a peripheral portion which is of reduced thickness with respect to the remaining portion of the insulation layer.

A retarding potential type energy analyzer including a front grid electrode, reference grid electrode and rear grid electrode sequentially arranged, with a predetermined amount of potential difference given between the reference grid electrode and the front grid electrode to form an upward potential gradient as well as a potential difference given between the reference grid electrode and the rear grid electrode to form a downward potential gradient, the grid electrodes are arranged so that the distance between the reference grid electrode and the rear grid electrode is shorter than the distance between the reference grid electrode and the front grid electrode, or the potential difference between the reference grid electrode and the rear grid electrode is made to be greater than the potential difference between the reference grid electrode and the front grid electrode.

Provided is a compact device which captures, over a large solid angle range, electrically charged particles emitted from a point source and parallelizes the trajectories of said charged particles. The present invention is configured from: an electrostatic lens comprising a plurality of axisymmetric electrodes (10-14) and an axisymmetric aspherical mesh (2) which has a surface that is concave away from the point source; and a flat collimator plate (3) positioned coaxially with the electrostatic lens. The acceptance angle for the electrically charged particles generated from a point source (7) is 30 or greater. The shape of the aspherical mesh (2), and the potentials and the positions of a ground electrode (10) and application electrodes (11-15) are adjusted so that the trajectories of the electrically charged particles are substantially parallelized by the electrostatic lens. The electrostatic lens and the flat collimator plate are positioned on a common axis.

An apparatus for obtaining ion energy distribution, IED, measurements in a plasma processing system, in one example, comprising a substrate for placement in the plasma processing system and exposed to the plasma, an ion energy analyser disposed in the substrate for measuring the ion energy distribution at the substrate surface during plasma processing, the analyser comprising a first conductive grid, a second conductive grid, a third conductive grid, a fourth conductive grid and a collection electrode, each grid separated by an insulation layer, a battery power supply and control circuitry, integrated in the substrate, for supplying and controlling voltage to each of the grids and the collector of the ion energy analyser; and a high voltage generating circuit.

A retarding potential type energy analyzer including a front grid electrode, reference grid electrode and rear grid electrode sequentially arranged, with a predetermined amount of potential difference given between the reference grid electrode and the front grid electrode to form an upward potential gradient as well as a potential difference given between the reference grid electrode and the rear grid electrode to form a downward potential gradient, the grid electrodes are arranged so that the distance between the reference grid electrode and the rear grid electrode is shorter than the distance between the reference grid electrode and the front grid electrode, or the potential difference between the reference grid electrode and the rear grid electrode is made to be greater than the potential difference between the reference grid electrode and the front grid electrode.

An apparatus for obtaining ion energy distribution, IED, measurements in a plasma processing system, in one example, comprises a substrate for placement in the plasma processing system and exposed to the plasma, an ion energy analyser disposed in the substrate for measuring the ion energy distribution at the substrate surface during plasma processing, the analyser comprising a plurality of conductive grids, and a collection electrode, each grid separated by an insulation layer, a high voltage generating circuit and a resistor.

Embodiments described herein relate to an apparatus that includes a housing with an opening, and a plurality of grids within the housing that are arranged in a vertical stack. In an embodiment, a collector plate is provided below the plurality of grids within the housing, and a magnetic module is adjacent to the opening.