The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 04, 2003
Filed:
Dec. 13, 1999
Shigeru Tanaka, Hitachiota, JP;
Isao Hashimoto, Hitachi, JP;
Hitachi, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An ion beam processing apparatus and a method of operating an ion source therefore are provided for reducing the frequency of breakdown due to particles, and for increasing the time that an apparatus can be made available by operating the apparatus in a stable state for a long time and minimizing maintenance operations such as cleaning. A plasma generating gas is introduced into a vacuum chamber formed of a processing chamber and an ion source mounted thereto to produce a plasma from the gas, and an electric field is applied within the vacuum chamber to extract ions within the plasma as an ion beam. The ion source comprises an arc power supply, an acceleration power supply for applying a positive potential to the acceleration electrode in order to extract an ion beam, and a deceleration power supply for applying a negative potential to the deceleration electrode ion order to prevent ions from flowing into the ion source. When the ion source is operated, the acceleration electrode is first applied with the positive potential, and then the deceleration electrode is applied with the negative potential.