Simulation of ion beam transport in an ion gun for materials processing

Abstract

Ion guns with several grids, which control ion energy from a plasma source, are widely used in semiconductor manufacturing process. We report on particle-in-cell simulations of the ion gun to which an electron beam and a magnetic field are applied in order to obtain higher ion fluxes. The electron beam in the energy range from 100 to 1000 eV is emitted in axial direction and the uniform magnetic field of 100 G perpendicular to the electron beam is used. It is revealed from the simulations that an ion flux in the ion gun with the electron beam and the magnetic field is twice larger than that in the conventional ion guns.