To provide an ion gun of a penning discharge type capable of achieving a milling rate which is remarkably higher than that in the related art, an ion milling device including the same, and an ion milling method. An ion generation unit includes a cathode that emits electrons, an anode that is provided within the ion generation unit and has an inner diameter of 5.2 mm or less, and magnetic-field generation means using a permanent magnet of which a maximum energy product ranges from 110 kJ/m.sup.3 to 191 kJ/m.sup.3.

To provide an ion gun of a penning discharge type capable of achieving a milling rate which is remarkably higher than that in the related art, an ion milling device including the same, and an ion milling method. An ion generation unit includes a cathode that emits electrons, an anode that is provided within the ion generation unit and has an inner diameter of 5.2 mm or less, and magnetic-field generation means using a permanent magnet of which a maximum energy product ranges from 110 kJ/m.sup.3 to 191 kJ/m.sup.3.

To provide an ion milling apparatus adapted to suppress the contamination of a beam forming electrode. The ion milling apparatus includes: an ion gun containing therein a beam forming electrode for forming an ion beam; a specimen holder for fixing a specimen to be processed by irradiation of an ion beam; a mask for shielding a part of the specimen from the ion beam; and an ion gun controller for controlling the ion gun.

A sputter-ion-pump system includes a sputter ion pump and an electronic drive. The electronic drive supplies a voltage across the ion pump to establish, in cooperation with a magnetic field, a Penning trap within the ion pump. A current sensor measures the Penning-trap current across the Penning trap. The Penning trap is used as an indication of pressure within the ion pump or a vacuum chamber including or in fluid communication with the ion pump. The pressure information can be used to determine flow rates, e.g., due to a load, outgassing, and/or leakage from an ambient.

Metallic ion source for resolving the issue of not being able to produce high-density ions efficiently with small-scale ion sources in situations where an electron beam injecting scheme is employed as the evaporation source to evaporate a solid, and for producing high-density ions highly efficiently. Designed to be compact and lightweight, the metallic ion source also facilitates selection of the ion extraction direction. The ion source, structured exploiting the characteristic physical property that whether ionization takes place is dependent on the energy of the electron beam, is furnished with a dual evaporation-plasma chamber that inside the same chamber enables a high-speed electron beam, whose ionization efficiency is low, and low-speed electrons generated by electric discharge, whose ionization efficiency is high, to participate independently and simultaneously in, respectively, evaporation of precursor and ionization action.

Metallic ion source for resolving the issue of not being able to produce high-density ions efficiently with small-scale ion sources in situations where an electron beam injecting scheme is employed as the evaporation source to evaporate a solid, and for producing high-density ions highly efficiently. Designed to be compact and lightweight, the metallic ion source also facilitates selection of the ion extraction direction. The ion source, structured exploiting the characteristic physical property that whether ionization takes place is dependent on the energy of the electron beam, is furnished with a dual evaporation-plasma chamber that inside the same chamber enables a high-speed electron beam, whose ionization efficiency is low, and low-speed electrons generated by electric discharge, whose ionization efficiency is high, to participate independently and simultaneously in, respectively, evaporation of precursor and ionization action.

An ion generation apparatus according to the present invention includes an electron emission device, an opposite electrode, and a controller, the electron emission device includes a lower electrode, a surface electrode, and an intermediate layer provided between the lower electrode and the surface electrode, the opposite electrode is provided to be opposite to the surface electrode, and the controller is provided to apply a voltage to the surface electrode, the lower electrode, or the opposite electrode such that a potential of the surface electrode becomes higher than a potential of the lower electrode and a potential of the opposite electrode in a positive ion mode.

To provide an ion gun of a penning discharge type capable of achieving a milling rate which is remarkably higher than that in the related art, an ion milling device including the same, and an ion milling method.

An ion generation unit includes a cathode that emits electrons, an anode that is provided within the ion generation unit and has an inner diameter of 5.2 mm or less, and magnetic-field generation means using a permanent magnet of which a maximum energy product ranges from 110 kJ/m.sup.3 to 191 kJ/m.sup.3.

To provide an ion gun of a penning discharge type capable of achieving a milling rate which is remarkably higher than that in the related art, an ion milling device including the same, and an ion milling method.

An ion generation unit includes a cathode that emits electrons, an anode that is provided within the ion generation unit and has an inner diameter of 5.2 mm or less, and magnetic-field generation means using a permanent magnet of which a maximum energy product ranges from 110 kJ/m.sup.3 to 191 kJ/m.sup.3.

Metallic ion source for resolving the issue of not being able to produce high-density ions efficiently with small-scale ion sources in situations where an electron beam injecting scheme is employed as the evaporation source to evaporate a solid, and for producing high-density ions highly efficiently. Designed to be compact and lightweight, the metallic ion source also facilitates selection of the ion extraction direction. The ion source, structured exploiting the characteristic physical property that whether ionization takes place is dependent on the energy of the electron beam, is furnished with a dual evaporation-plasma chamber that inside the same chamber enables a high-speed electron beam, whose ionization efficiency is low, and low-speed electrons generated by electric discharge, whose ionization efficiency is high, to participate independently and simultaneously in, respectively, evaporation of precursor and ionization action.