A pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source

Abstract

This invention relates to the fields of low-temperature plasma technology and thin film material preparation technology, specifically to a pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source, comprising: a mounting flange, an extraction electrode, a gate insulating ring, a plasma discharge cavity, a discharge cavity tube, a bottom flange, a lower sealing rubber ring, a bottom end cap, a gas path, a support rod, a support rod insulating sleeve, and an extraction power supply. This invention proposes a radio frequency ion source with a wide operating gas pressure range suitable for ion beam etching and ion beam deposition. It generates a low-energy ion beam by utilizing pulse-modulated radio frequency inductive discharge and single-gate extraction, and features a simple structure, convenient assembly and disassembly, and easy maintenance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the fields of low-temperature plasma technology and thin film material preparation technology, specifically to a pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source. Background Technology

[0002] Radio frequency (RF) ion sources, as a type of gas ion source, utilize glow discharge to ionize rarefied gas and generate plasma. The large number of high-energy electrons in the plasma collide with gas molecules, decomposing, combining, exciting, and ionizing the gas molecules to generate various highly reactive chemical groups. Due to its simple structure, lack of electrode contamination, high efficiency, and long service life, it has important applications in fields such as material surface cleaning, activation, polishing, etching, and vapor deposition, thanks to its unique advantages of high efficiency and environmental friendliness.

[0003] Currently, the working gas pressure of the radio frequency ion source used in etching is 10. -3 -10 -2 The pressure is on the order of Pa, while the working pressure of the RF ion source during thin film deposition is in the range of 10 Pa. -1 In ion beam coating equipment, which operates on the order of -101 Pa, different radio frequency ion sources need to be designed and installed to achieve multiple functions such as sample etching, cleaning, and coating, which increases the complexity of the equipment.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to design a pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source to overcome the shortcomings of the existing technology. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention designs a pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source to solve the technical problem that ion beam coating devices in the prior art need to install different radio frequency ion sources.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention:

[0007] A pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source includes: a mounting flange, lead-out electrodes, a gate insulating ring, a plasma discharge chamber, a discharge chamber tube, a bottom flange, a lower sealing rubber ring, a bottom end cap, a gas path, a support rod, a support rod insulating sleeve, and a lead-out power supply.

[0008] A mounting flange is installed on the top outer wall of the discharge chamber tube, and a lead-out electrode is mounted on the mounting flange. A grid insulating ring is provided between the mounting flange and the lead-out electrode. A bottom flange is provided on the bottom outer wall of the discharge chamber tube, and a bottom end cap is provided on the bottom end flange. A lower end sealing rubber ring is provided between the bottom outer wall of the discharge chamber tube and the bottom end flange. A gas passage is provided in the center of the bottom of the discharge chamber tube. A support rod is also provided between the bottom end flange and the mounting flange. The lead-out power supply is connected to the lead-out electrode.

[0009] An outlet sealing rubber ring is also provided between the mounting flange and the outer wall of the top of the discharge chamber tube; both the outlet sealing rubber ring and the lower sealing rubber ring are fluororubber rings.

[0010] A radio frequency antenna is wound around the outside of the discharge cavity tube; a matching network is connected to the radio frequency antenna, and the matching network is connected to the radio frequency power supply.

[0011] The outer wall of the support rod is also provided with support rod insulation; the support rod is a stainless steel rod with threads at both ends; the support rod insulation sleeve is a ceramic or polytetrafluoroethylene tube with internal threads.

[0012] The mounting flange is a circular ring structure and is made of stainless steel. The mounting flange is also provided with an outlet end sealing rubber ring mounting groove and a discharge chamber tube mounting groove.

[0013] The bottom end cap is a stainless steel disc structure, and the discharge cavity tube is made of ceramic or quartz tube; the radio frequency antenna is a silver-plated spiral copper tube with 3-7 turns and a spacing of 3-5mm.

[0014] The lead-out electrode is a porous electrode made of a thin sheet of molybdenum, graphite or stainless steel with a thickness of 1-10 mm.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0016] This invention proposes a radio frequency ion source with a wide operating gas pressure range suitable for ion beam etching and ion beam coating. It generates a low-energy ion beam by utilizing pulse-regulated radio frequency inductive discharge and single-gate extraction. It features simple structure, convenient disassembly and assembly, and easy maintenance. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source designed according to the present invention;

[0018] The components are: 1-mounting flange, 2-lead electrode, 3-gate insulating ring, 4-outlet sealing rubber ring, 5-RF antenna, 6-plasma discharge chamber, 7-discharge chamber tube, 8-bottom flange, 9-lower sealing rubber ring, 10-bottom end cover, 11-gas path, 12-support rod, 13-support rod insulating sleeve, 14-matching network, 15-RF power supply, 16-lead power supply. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0020] A pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source includes: a mounting flange 1, an extraction electrode 2, a gate insulating ring 3, a plasma discharge chamber 6, a discharge chamber tube 7, a bottom flange 8, a lower sealing rubber ring 9, a bottom end cap 10, a gas path 11, a support rod 12, a support rod insulating sleeve 13, and an extraction power supply 16.

[0021] A mounting flange 1 is installed on the top outer wall of the discharge chamber tube 7, and an output electrode 2 is installed on the mounting flange 1. A grid insulating ring 3 is provided between the mounting flange 1 and the output electrode 2. A bottom flange 8 is provided on the bottom outer wall of the discharge chamber tube 7, and a bottom end cap 10 is provided on the bottom flange 8. A lower sealing rubber ring 9 is provided between the bottom outer wall of the discharge chamber tube 7 and the bottom flange 8. An air passage 11 is provided in the center of the bottom of the discharge chamber tube 7. A support rod 12 is also provided between the bottom flange 8 and the mounting flange 1. The output power supply 16 is connected to the output electrode 2.

[0022] An outlet end sealing rubber ring 4 is also provided between the mounting flange 1 and the top outer wall of the discharge chamber tube 7; both the outlet end sealing rubber ring 4 and the lower end sealing rubber ring 9 are fluororubber rings.

[0023] The discharge cavity tube 7 is wrapped with a radio frequency antenna 5; a matching network 14 is connected to the radio frequency antenna 5, and the matching network 14 is connected to the radio frequency power supply 15.

[0024] The outer wall of the support rod 12 is also provided with a support rod insulation 13; the support rod 12 is a stainless steel rod with threads at both ends; the support rod insulation sleeve 13 is a ceramic or polytetrafluoroethylene tube with internal threads.

[0025] The mounting flange 1 is a circular ring structure and is made of stainless steel. The mounting flange 1 is also provided with an outlet end sealing rubber ring mounting groove and a discharge chamber tube mounting groove.

[0026] The bottom end cap 10 is a stainless steel disc structure, the discharge cavity tube 7 is made of ceramic or quartz tube, and the radio frequency antenna 5 is a silver-plated spiral copper tube with 3-7 turns and a spacing of 3-5mm.

[0027] The lead-out electrode 2 is a porous electrode made of a thin sheet of molybdenum, graphite or stainless steel with a thickness of 1-10 mm.

[0028] In this embodiment, the working pressure range of the power supply 16 is 10-2-102 Pa.

[0029] In this embodiment, the mounting flange 1 has a 5-8mm outlet end sealing rubber ring mounting groove and a discharge chamber tube mounting groove.

[0030] In this embodiment, the base cover 10 is a stainless steel disc with a thickness of 8-20mm; the discharge chamber tube 7 is a ceramic or quartz tube with a wall thickness of 5-15mm, a diameter of 100-150mm, and a length of 100-250mm.

[0031] In this embodiment, the gate insulating ring 3 is an insulating ring with a thickness of 3-5mm made of ceramic or polytetrafluoroethylene; the outlet sealing rubber ring 4 and the lower sealing rubber ring 9 have a diameter of 4-8mm.

[0032] In this embodiment, the RF power supply 15 and the matching network 14 have a frequency of 13.56MHz, a power of 50-2000W, and a pulse frequency of 1-10KHz.

[0033] The power supply 16 is a DC bias power supply with a voltage of 0-2000V, or a bipolar pulse power supply with a positive and negative pulse voltage of -2000-2000V that is arbitrarily adjustable, a frequency of 1-10Hz, a pulse width of 20-100μs, and a phase synchronized with the RF power supply 15.

[0034] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. The present invention is not limited to the above examples. Within the scope of knowledge possessed by those skilled in the art, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source, characterized in that, include: Mounting flange (1), lead-out electrode (2), grid insulating ring (3), plasma discharge chamber (6), discharge chamber tube (7), bottom flange (8), lower sealing rubber ring (9), bottom end cover (10), gas path (11), support rod (12), support rod insulating sleeve (13) and lead-out power supply (16). The discharge chamber tube (7) has an installation flange (1) installed on its top outer wall, and an output electrode (2) is installed on the installation flange (1). A grid insulating ring (3) is provided between the installation flange (1) and the output electrode (2). The discharge chamber tube (7) has a bottom flange (8) installed on its bottom outer wall, and a bottom end cap (10) is provided on the bottom flange (8). A lower sealing rubber ring (9) is provided between the bottom outer wall of the discharge chamber tube (7) and the bottom flange (8). An air passage (11) is provided in the center of the bottom of the discharge chamber tube (7). A support rod (12) is also provided between the bottom flange (8) and the installation flange (1). The output power supply (16) is connected to the output electrode (2).

2. The pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source according to claim 1, characterized in that: An outlet end sealing rubber ring (4) is also provided between the mounting flange (1) and the top outer wall of the discharge chamber tube (7); both the outlet end sealing rubber ring (4) and the lower end sealing rubber ring (9) are fluororubber rings.

3. The pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source according to claim 1, characterized in that: The discharge cavity tube (7) is wrapped with a radio frequency antenna (5); a matching network (14) is connected to the radio frequency antenna (5), and the matching network (14) is connected to the radio frequency power supply (15).

4. The pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer wall of the support rod (12) is also provided with a support rod insulating sleeve (13); the support rod (12) is a stainless steel rod with threads at both ends; the support rod insulating sleeve (13) is a ceramic or polytetrafluoroethylene tube with internal threads.

5. The pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mounting flange (1) is a circular ring structure and is made of stainless steel. The mounting flange (1) is also provided with an outlet end sealing rubber ring mounting groove and a discharge chamber tube mounting groove.

6. The pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source according to claim 3, characterized in that: The bottom end cap (10) is a stainless steel disc structure, the discharge cavity tube (7) is made of ceramic or quartz tube, and the radio frequency antenna (5) is a silver-plated spiral copper tube with 3-7 turns and a spacing of 3-5mm.

7. A pulse-modulated radio frequency gas ion source according to claim 5, characterized in that: The lead-out electrode (2) is a porous electrode made of a thin plate of molybdenum, graphite or stainless steel with a thickness of 1-10 mm.

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