Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.

James W Blanchette

Bon-Woong Koo

Kevin M Daniels

Richard M White

Jason M Schaller

Svetlana Radovanov

Russell J Low

Eric D Hermanson

Kevin Verrier

A method of controlling operation of an indirectly-heated cathode (IHC) ion source includes a step of measuring a rate of loss of cathode weight of the IHC ion source that occurs during operation using a first cathode configuration and under a first set of operation conditions. A maximum weight loss for the first cathode configuration is determined, and a cathode lifetime is calculated based upon the rate of cathode weight loss and the maximum weight loss. A further method includes receiving a minimum source bias power value for operation of a cathode in a first configuration, measuring a rate of decrease in source bias power for a cathode in the first configuration, and calculating a lifetime of the cathode based upon the minimum source bias power and rate of decrease in source bias power.

Method and system for in-situ monitoring of cathode erosion and predicting cathode lifetime

A system and method are disclosed for controlling an ion beam. A deceleration lens is disclosed for use in an ion implanter. The lens may include a suppression electrode, first and second focus electrodes, and first and second shields. The shields may be positioned between upper and lower portions of the suppression electrode. The first and second shields are positioned between the first focus electrode and an end station of the ion implanter. Thus positioned, the first and second shields protect support surfaces of said first and second focus electrodes from deposition of back-streaming particles generated from said ion beam. In some embodiments, the first and second focus electrodes may be adjustable to enable the electrode surfaces to be adjusted with respect to a direction of the ion beam. By adjusting the angle of the focus electrodes, parallelism of the ion beam can be controlled. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Deceleration lens

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Haverhill, MA, United States of America

James W Blanchette