Compact solid-state neutral particle analyzer in current mode Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 10D304 (2012) Source fabrication and lifetime for Li+ ion beams extracted from alumino-silicate sources Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 043303 (2012) Laser ion sources for radioactive beams (invited) Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 02A916 (2012) Producing persistent, high-current, high-duty-factor H− beams for routine 1 MW operation of Spallation Neutron Source (invited) Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 02A732 (2012) Additional information on Rev. Sci. Instrum.We have developed a hollow-cathode glow discharge plasma for a dc broad beam ion source. For a broad beam ion source, it is hard to obtain adequate pressure drop between the discharge space and the extraction region. The high-current low-voltage mode of discharge is limited to a pressure about 10 Ϫ3 Torr, but for stable extraction of ions without breakdown the pressure needs to be at least one order of magnitude lower. To decrease the limited operation pressure for the high-current mode of the hollow-cathode glow, an external electron beam was used. These electrons were generated in a ''keep-alive'' discharge and are accelerated in the cathode layer of the primary discharge. In this way we successfully decreased the operation pressure to 10 Ϫ4 -3ϫ10 Ϫ5 Torr, as well as reaching a value of the discharge voltage as low as 80 V. The characteristics of this discharge system are presented, and the influence of external electrons on the discharge parameters is discussed. © 1997 American Institute of Physics. ͓S0034-6748͑98͒56902-X͔

We describe a small hollow-cathode plasma source suitable for small-scale materials synthesis and modification application. The supporting electrical system is minimal. The gaseous plasma source delivers a plasma ion current of up to about 1 mA. Here we outline the source construction and operation, and present some of its basic performance characteristics.

An ion source based on a planar magnetron sputtering device with thermally isolated target has been designed and demonstrated. For a boron sputtering target, high target temperature is required because boron has low electrical conductivity at room temperature, increasing with temperature. The target is well-insulated thermally and can be heated by an initial low-current, high-voltage discharge mode. A discharge power of 16 W was adequate to attain the required surface temperature (400 degrees C), followed by transition of the discharge to a high-current, low-voltage mode for which the magnetron enters a self-sputtering operational mode. Beam analysis was performed with a time-of-flight system; the maximum boron ion fraction in the beam is greater than 99%, and the mean boron ion fraction, time-integrated over the whole pulse length, is about 95%. We have plans to make the ion source steady state and test with a bending magnet. This kind of boron ion source could be competitive to conventional boron ion sources that utilize compounds such as BF(3), and could be useful for semiconductor industry application.

This paper is devoted to the engineering embodiment of the modern methods for producing charged ion and electron beams by extracting them from the plasma of a discharge. Electron beams use to execute electron-beam welding, annealing, and surface heating of materials and to realize plasmochemical reactions stimulated by fast electrons. Ion beams allow realization of technologies of ion implantation or ion-assisted deposition of coatings thereby opening new prospects for the creation of compounds and alloys by the method that makes it possible to obtain desired parameters and functional properties of the surface. A detailed description is given to the performance and design of devices producing beams of this type: the ion and electron sources being developed at the laboratory of plasma sources of the Institute of High-Current Electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the laboratory of plasma electronics of Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics.

The gaseous ion source based on a hollow cathode glow discharge with additional external injection of electron beam described in a previous publication has undergone further development. The direction of the source upgrade was to increase the total beam current and its density keeping the same broad beam cross section (about 100 cm2). With an operating gas pressure of 10−4 Torr, the maximum stable discharge current was as high as 40 A in 300 μs (pulsed mode) and about 10 A (dc mode) without discharge gap arc breakdown. The total ion emission current exceeded 1 A in both cases. The geometry of the discharge gap was optimized, allowing improvement of the parameters of the device. The composition of the ion beam under various operating conditions of the discharge has been measured using the time-of-flight method. The electron beam injection into the hollow cathode of the ion source resulted in a reduction of the discharge voltage from the usual 500–600 V to 100 V or less. This lead to lower sputtering and as a result low contamination of the gaseous ion beam by metal fractions. Measurements showed 0.15% metal content instead of the typical several percent. The influence of the ion beam extraction on the discharge parameters was also examined.