Ion irradiation system and method

Abstract

The present invention concerns an ion irradiation system and has for its object to provide an ion irradiation system and method which enable one or more ions to be applied to a target point with high accuracy. The ion irradiation system according to the present invention comprises: an ion microprobe; a deflector for deflecting an ion microbeam generated by said ion microprobe; a micro slit for extracting a single or predetermined number of ions from said ion microbeam deflected by said deflector; a sample holder mechanism for holding a sample to be irradiated with said single or predetermined number of ions extracted through said micro slit; a scanning electron microscope mechanism for observing the surface of said sample in real time; a secondary electron detecting system for detecting secondary electrons which are emitted from the surface of said sample, said secondary electron detecting system including a secondary electron multiplier; and an electric field control circuit for controlling an electric field which is applied to said deflector, said electric field control circuit being composed of a clock generator, a counter connected to said clock generator and a high-voltage amplifier connected to said counter and having its output connected to said deflector; wherein said counter counts output signal pulses from said secondary electron multiplier and supplies a clock signal to said high-voltage amplifier of said electric field control circuit during counting of said single or predetermined number of ions and stops the supply of said clock signal to said high-voltage amplifier upon completion of counting of said single or predetermined number of ions, whereby said ion microbeam is chopped by said deflector one or more times instantaneously reverse its direction or deflection with respect to said micro slit, thereby extracting said single or predetermined number of ions through said micro slit.