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Design and Theory of Operation The DIAMONEX® CD SOURCE is a gridless, DC closed-drift ion source that utilizes crossed electric (E) and magnetic (B) fields to achieve plasma confinement and beam generation. This configuration has similarities to the approach used in magnetron sputtering to reduce operating pressure and enhance film deposition rate.
A compact hollow cathode electron source (HCES), typically concentric with the anode channel, provides electrons to the anode of the CD SOURCE to ignite the plasma and charge-neutralize the ion beam. Since the extracted ion beam is charge-neutralized, insulating substrates such as glass and plastics can be processed without charge build-up. Additionally, the extracted ions maintain their energy so independent substrate bias is not required. Compared to hot filament electron sources, the DIAMONEX HCES is much more robust and has a longer lifetime in reactive gas atmospheres, such as oxygen and hydrocarbons. The crossed E and B fields result in a circulating, closed path or "closed-drift" electric field which maintains a high-density plasma within the anode channel of the ion source. These fields also result in a potential drop through which ions are accelerated away from the source toward the substrate. Therefore, the CD SOURCE achieves ion extraction without the problems of contamination, particulate generation and low ion current density that plague grided ion sources. The resultant plasma ion beam exhibits a lower energy and a broader distribution of ions than that of a grided ion beam source, but with considerably higher ion density. The DIAMONEX CD SOURCE uses an electromagnet (rather than permanent magnets) to generate the B field. The electromagnet allows for adjustment of the B field, and an added degree of process control independent of gas flow rate. This de-coupling of gas flow from other source conditions creates a process flexibility advantage over other designs of gridless ion sources. The CD SOURCE is operated with state-of-the-art, proven DC and AC power supplies for maximum reliability. There are no RF interference issues with this source.
Processes The DIAMONEX CD SOURCE is a flexible tool that is ideally suited for a wide range of commercial ion beam manufacturing processes that benefit from high fluxes of ions, including Ion Beam Cleaning of Substrates, Reactive Ion Beam Etching (RIBE) of Substrates and Thin Films, Direct Ion Beam Deposition of Thin Films and Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD) of Thin Films. By design, the CD SOURCE is a high flux, low energy source of ions, capable of delivering a high ion current density of several mA/cm2 to a substrate, making it an ideal solution for a variety of substrate cleaning and thin film deposition applications. In substrate cleaning and reactive ion beam etching applications, surface contaminants or thin film layers can be removed with minimal damage to the substrate. The unique design characteristics of the CD SOURCE overcome problems associated with buildup of insulating materials on the anode, enabling high-rate deposition of insulating thin films. With simple beam-shaping, the source is capable of depositing films with a thickness uniformity of ± 2% over a 100 mm diameter static substrate. Uniformity of ± 0.3% over a 200 mm diameter substrate can be achieved by addition of substrate rotation and tilt. Other material properties, such as index of refraction, also exhibit similar uniformity. The source typically delivers a run-to-run film thickness repeatability of ± 0.5% for thin films.
Applications The highly flexible and reproducible ion flux provides engineers in both Process Development and Manufacturing environments the control needed for process optimization and consistency. The DIAMONEX CD SOURCE is a precision tool that can be used to extend the range of conventional thin film deposition technology to deposit uniform and coherent films as thin as < 50 Angstroms, or as thick as 10 microns. The unique design characteristics of the source allow it to operate on reactive gases, such as hydrocarbons, oxygen and silicon-containing gases to produce transparent, dielectric, superhard, and low friction tribological films. These capabilities make the CD SOURCE useful for substrate cleaning, etching or film deposition in many optical, data storage, semiconductor and tribological applications, including:
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