Ion beam section polishing device and method

Abstract

The invention provides an efficient ion beam section polishing method and device. The efficient ion beam section polishing device comprises an ion source, a first focusing module and a second focusing module. Wherein the ion source is used for generating an ion beam; the first focusing module is used for focusing the ion beam so as to improve the beam density of the ion beam and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam; the ion beam focused by the first focusing module enters the second focusing module, the second focusing module carries out one-way focusing on the ion beam, and the ion beam is diverged in the other direction, so that a slender oval ion beam spot is formed and irradiates the surface of a sample to be polished, and efficient ion beam section polishing is achieved. According to the invention, the ion beam current density in the effective action area can be obviously improved, so that the polishing efficiency is improved. The device is simple in structure, can be easily integrated into existing ion beam polishing equipment, and has a wide application prospect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of material processing, and in particular to an ion beam cross-section polishing device and method. Background Art

[0002] Argon ion beam polishing is a precision surface treatment technology that uses accelerated argon ion beam sputtering to remove atoms from the material surface, thereby achieving high-precision polishing. By precisely controlling parameters such as ion beam energy, beam current, incident angle and polishing time, a smooth and flat high-quality sample surface can be obtained. Compared with traditional mechanical polishing methods, ion beam polishing technology has the advantages of non-contact, high precision and a wide range of applicable materials, avoiding sample damage and deformation, and improving the accuracy of subsequent imaging and analysis. This technology is widely used in sample preparation of various materials such as metals, ceramics, biology, semiconductors and new energy materials.

[0003] Ion beam polishing can be divided into two types: plane polishing and cross-section polishing. Cross-section polishing is mainly used to prepare cross-section samples of materials. The principle is to use a baffle with a sharp edge to cover most of the sample area, leaving only a narrow rectangular area that needs to be polished. The ion beam bombards this area to remove material, thereby preparing a high-quality cross-section sample.

[0004] However, conventional cross-section polishing techniques use ion beams with circular beam spots, such as Figure 1 As shown, there are the following deficiencies:

[0005] Low ion beam energy utilization rate: During the polishing process, most of the ion beam with a circular beam spot hits the baffle, causing energy waste and reducing efficiency.

[0006] Contamination risk: Most of the ion beam hits the baffle, and sputtering may also occur, posing a risk of deposition and contamination of the sample.

[0007] Limited effective action area: The area of ​​the circular beam spot is limited. For large-sized samples, the sample stage needs to be moved for point-by-point polishing, which reduces polishing efficiency, increases processing difficulty and time cost, and may result in uneven polishing.

[0008] The above factors together lead to low polishing efficiency and long processing time of traditional methods. Summary of the invention

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose and other advantages of the present invention, the first purpose of the present invention is to provide an ion beam cross-section polishing device, including an ion source, a first focusing module, and a second focusing module; wherein,

[0010] The ion source is used to generate an ion beam;

[0011] The first focusing module is used to focus the ion beam to increase the beam current density of the ion beam and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam;

[0012] The ion beam focused by the first focusing module enters the second focusing module, and the second focusing module focuses the ion beam in one direction and diverges the ion beam in another direction, thereby forming a long strip ion beam spot to irradiate the surface of the sample to be polished, thereby achieving uniform and efficient ion beam cross-section polishing.

[0013] Furthermore, the energy and beam current of the ion beam generated by the ion source can be adjusted according to the material to be polished and the required polishing effect.

[0014] Further, the first focusing module is configured as an Einzel lens.

[0015] Furthermore, the electrode voltage of the Einzel lens is adjustable to optimize the focusing effect.

[0016] Furthermore, the second focusing module is configured as a quadrupole lens, and the quadrupole lens performs unidirectional focusing on the ion beam through the non-uniform electric field generated by the quadrupole lens.

[0017] Furthermore, the electrode voltage of the quadrupole lens can be adjusted to precisely control the shape and size of the ion beam spot so as to match the size and shape of the sample to be polished.

[0018] A second object of the present invention is to provide an ion beam cross-section polishing method, which is applied to the above-mentioned ion beam cross-section polishing device, and the method comprises the following steps:

[0019] generating an ion beam using an ion source;

[0020] The ion beam is focused by a first focusing module to increase the beam current density of the ion beam and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam;

[0021] The ion beam focused by the first focusing module enters the second focusing module, and the second focusing module focuses the ion beam in one direction and diverges the ion beam in another direction, thereby forming a long strip ion beam spot;

[0022] The shaped ion beam is irradiated onto the surface of the sample to be polished, achieving uniform and efficient ion beam cross-section polishing.

[0023] Furthermore, the method further comprises the steps of:

[0024] The energy and beam current of the ion beam are adjusted according to the material to be polished and the required polishing effect.

[0025] Furthermore, the method further comprises the steps of:

[0026] Adjusting the electrode voltage of the first focusing module to optimize the focusing effect;

[0027] And, the electrode voltage of the second focusing module is adjusted to accurately control the shape and size of the ion beam spot to match the size and shape of the sample to be polished.

[0028] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0029] The present invention provides an ion beam cross-section polishing device and method, which can significantly improve energy utilization: the linear beam spot design accurately controls the irradiation area of ​​the ion beam, concentrates the ion beam energy on the sample target area, and minimizes the bombardment of areas outside the sample. This not only improves the polishing efficiency, but also avoids sample contamination caused by sputtering of other materials, ensuring the cleanliness of the sample surface and the accuracy of the analysis results.

[0030] Expand the effective action area: The linear beam spot can cover a larger polishing area of ​​the sample cross section, reducing the number of sample stage movements and improving polishing efficiency.

[0031] Enhanced ion beam adjustment flexibility: By adjusting the lens parameters, the shape and size of the ion beam can be flexibly controlled to adapt to samples of different shapes and sizes.

[0032] Significantly improve polishing efficiency: Due to the improvement of energy utilization and the expansion of effective action area, the present invention can significantly shorten the polishing time and improve processing efficiency.

[0033] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present invention. In order to more clearly understand the technical means of the present invention and implement it according to the contents of the specification, the following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The specific implementation of the present invention is given in detail by the following embodiments and their accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of this application. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. In the drawings:

[0035] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of ion beam cross-section polishing;

[0036] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the ion beam cross-section polishing device;

[0037] Figure 3 This is the schematic diagram of the ion beam cross-section polishing device;

[0038] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of beam density distribution of Example 1;

[0039] Figure 5 is the half-peak width position of example 1;

[0040] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of beam density distribution of Example 2;

[0041] Figure 7 is the half-peak width position of Example 2;

[0042] Figure 8 Flow chart of the ion beam cross-section polishing method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0044] In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions may be exaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or like components.

[0045] In the following description, words such as center, thickness, height, length, front, back, rear, left, right, top, bottom, upper, lower, etc. are defined relative to the structure shown in the drawings. In particular, "height" is equivalent to the dimension from top to bottom, "width" is equivalent to the dimension from left to right, and "depth" is equivalent to the dimension from front to back. They are relative concepts and may change accordingly according to their different positions and different usage states. Therefore, these or other directions should not be interpreted as restrictive terms.

[0046] Terms related to attachment, coupling, and the like (eg, "connected" and "attached") refer to either a fixed or attached relationship between structures, either directly or indirectly, and either movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly stated otherwise, of the structures to one another through intermediate structures.

[0047] Example 1

[0048] An ion beam cross-section polishing device, such as Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown, it includes an ion source 3, a first focusing module 2, and a second focusing module 1; wherein,

[0049] The ion source is used to generate an ion beam;

[0050] In some embodiments, the energy and beam current of the ion beam generated by the ion source can be adjusted according to the material to be polished and the desired polishing effect. A suitable ion source (e.g., a cold cathode ion source, a hot cathode ion source, an ECR ion source, an RF ion source, etc.) is used to generate an ion beam of the desired type, such as an argon ion beam.

[0051] The first focusing module is used to focus the ion beam to increase the beam current density of the ion beam and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam;

[0052] In some embodiments, the first focusing module is configured as an Einzel lens. The ion beam of the ion source is first focused by an Einzel lens to increase the beam current density of the ion beam and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam. Furthermore, the electrode voltage of the Einzel lens can be precisely controlled to optimize the focusing effect.

[0053] The ion beam focused by the first focusing module enters the second focusing module, and the second focusing module focuses the ion beam in one direction and diverges the ion beam in another direction, thereby forming a long strip ion beam spot to irradiate the surface of the sample to be polished, thereby achieving uniform and efficient ion beam cross-section polishing.

[0054] In some embodiments, the second focusing module is configured as a quadrupole lens, which performs unidirectional focusing on the ion beam through the non-uniform electric field generated by the quadrupole lens. Further, by adjusting the electrode voltage of the quadrupole lens, the shape and size of the ion beam spot can be precisely controlled to match the size and shape of the sample to be polished.

[0055] The ion beam focused by the Einzel lens then enters a quadrupole lens system. The quadrupole lens focuses the ion beam in one direction through the non-uniform electric field it generates, and diverges the ion beam in another direction, thus forming a long strip of ion beam spot. The combination of multiple electrostatic lens units can accurately control the shape and distribution of the ion beam.

[0056] The shaped ion beam is irradiated onto the surface of the sample to be polished, achieving uniform and efficient ion beam cross-section polishing. Since the shape and size of the ion beam match the sample surface, the utilization rate of the ion beam can be maximized and the polishing rate can be increased.

[0057] Ion beam control is achieved by adjusting the voltage of each electrostatic lens electrode, and the shape, size and beam density distribution of ion beams emitted by ion optical tubes with and without focusing lens groups and with different types of focusing lens groups are compared and analyzed.

[0058] Example 1: Comparison between non-focusing and focusing with an electrostatic quadrupole lens: An argon ion beam with a mass of 39.948u and a charged energy of 1eV was used as the experimental object. 3000 ions were emitted for the experiment, and the number of ions in a rectangular interval with a width of 1mm and lengths of 2mm, 4mm, 6mm, and 8mm respectively was calculated.

[0059] Experimental conditions: the argon ion beam is a set of parallel beams with a diameter of 6 mm, the ion beam energy is 5 keV, and the ion beam position distribution is uniform; the voltages of the four electrodes of the electrostatic quadrupole lens are 500 V, -500 V, 500 V, and -500 V respectively; the voltage of the Ei nzel lens electrode is 2000 V.

[0060] Comparison of no focusing and focusing with electrostatic quadrupole lens Figure 4 , Figure 5 The results of no focusing and electrostatic quadrupole lens focusing are shown in Table 1.

[0061] Table 1 Results of no focusing and electrostatic quadrupole lens focusing

[0062]

[0063] The total number of ions extracted from the ion source is 536. Compared with the circular ion beam spot without focusing lens, the ion beam shape after focusing with electrostatic quadrupole lens is elliptical, and the half-peak width in z direction is compressed from [-1.25, 1.26] mm to [-0.34, 0.37] mm, and the y direction is stretched from [-1.11, 1.23] mm to [-1.97.2.11] mm. In the range of 1 mm calculation width (i.e. z = [-0.5, 0.5]), the beam current density of different sample lengths is increased by 1.9 to 2.96 times.

[0064] Example 2: Comparison of no focusing and focusing with the Ei nzel focusing lens and electrostatic quadrupole lens group: If you do not want to stretch the ion beam in another direction, that is, compress the ions in one direction while maintaining the original length, you can first use the Ei nzel lens to focus the ion beam, and then stretch the ion beam through the quadrupole lens.

[0065] Comparison of non-focusing and focusing of Einzel focusing lens and electrostatic quadrupole lens group Figure 6 , Figure 7 As shown, the focusing results of no focusing, Ei nzel focusing lens and electrostatic quadrupole lens group are shown in Table 2.

[0066] Table 2 Focusing results of no focusing, Ei nzel focusing lens and electrostatic quadrupole lens group

[0067]

[0068] The total number of ions extracted from the ion source is 536. Compared with the circular ion beam spot without focusing lens, the ion beam shape after focusing with electrostatic quadrupole lens is elliptical, and the half-peak width in z direction is compressed from [-1.25, 1.26] mm to [-0.35, 0.34] mm, and the y direction is stretched from [-1.11, 1.23] mm to [-1.23.1.3] mm. In the range of 1 mm calculation width (i.e. z = [-0.5, 0.5]), the beam current density of different sample lengths is increased by 3.22 to 3.44 times. Almost all ion beams act on the effective area, greatly improving the polishing efficiency.

[0069] This embodiment provides an ion beam cross-section polishing device to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, such as low ion beam energy utilization, limited effective action area, and low polishing efficiency, thereby improving polishing efficiency, reducing processing time, and improving polishing accuracy and uniformity, thereby expanding its application range in the field of material analysis. The device has a simple structure and is easy to integrate into existing ion beam polishing equipment, and has broad application prospects.

[0070] Example 2

[0071] An ion beam cross-section polishing method is applied to the above-mentioned ion beam cross-section polishing device. For a detailed description of the ion beam cross-section polishing device, reference can be made to the corresponding description in the above-mentioned ion beam cross-section polishing device embodiment, which will not be repeated here. Figure 8 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0072] S100, generating an ion beam using an ion source;

[0073] S200, the ion beam is focused by a first focusing module to increase the beam current density of the ion beam, and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam;

[0074] S300, the ion beam focused by the first focusing module enters the second focusing module, and the second focusing module focuses the ion beam in one direction and diverges the ion beam in another direction, thereby forming a long strip ion beam spot;

[0075] S400, the shaped ion beam is irradiated to the surface of the sample to be polished, achieving uniform and efficient ion beam cross-section polishing. Since the shape and size of the ion beam match the sample surface, the utilization rate of the ion beam can be maximized and the polishing rate can be increased.

[0076] In some embodiments, the steps include:

[0077] The energy and current of the ion beam are adjusted according to the material to be polished and the desired polishing effect. A suitable ion source (e.g., cold cathode ion source, hot cathode ion source, ECR ion source, RF ion source, etc.) is used to generate a desired type of ion beam, such as an argon ion beam.

[0078] In some embodiments, the steps include:

[0079] The electrode voltage of the first focusing module is adjusted to optimize the focusing effect.

[0080] In some embodiments, the first focusing module is configured as an Einzel lens. The ion beam of the ion source is first focused by an Einzel lens to increase the beam current density of the ion beam and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam. Furthermore, the electrode voltage of the Einzel lens can be precisely controlled to optimize the focusing effect.

[0081] In some embodiments, the steps include:

[0082] The electrode voltage of the second focusing module is adjusted to precisely control the shape and size of the ion beam spot so as to match the size and shape of the sample to be polished.

[0083] In some embodiments, the second focusing module is configured as a quadrupole lens, which performs unidirectional focusing on the ion beam through the non-uniform electric field generated by the quadrupole lens. Further, by adjusting the electrode voltage of the quadrupole lens, the shape and size of the ion beam spot can be precisely controlled to match the size and shape of the sample to be polished.

[0084] In combination with the above-mentioned embodiment, the ion beam focused by the Einzel lens then enters a quadrupole lens system. The quadrupole lens focuses the ion beam in one direction through the non-uniform electric field it generates, and diverges the ion beam in another direction, thereby forming a long strip ion beam spot. The combination of multiple electrostatic lens units can accurately control the shape and distribution of the ion beam.

[0085] This embodiment provides an argon ion beam cross-section polishing method to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art such as low ion beam energy utilization, limited effective action area, and low polishing efficiency, thereby improving polishing efficiency, reducing processing time, and improving polishing accuracy and uniformity, thereby expanding its application scope in the field of material analysis.

[0086] The number of devices and processing scales described here are used to simplify the description of the present invention. Applications, modifications and variations of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

[0087] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed as above, they are not limited to the applications listed in the specification and implementation modes. They can be fully applied to various fields suitable for the present invention. For those familiar with the art, additional modifications can be easily implemented. Therefore, without departing from the general concept defined by the claims and the scope of equivalents, the present invention is not limited to the specific details and the illustrations shown and described herein.

[0088] It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.

[0089] The specification may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer, such as program units. Generally, program units include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The specification may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices connected via a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program units may be located in local and remote computer storage media, including storage devices.

[0090] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the system embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment.

[0091] The above description is only an embodiment of this specification and is not intended to limit one or more embodiments of this specification. For those skilled in the art, one or more embodiments of this specification may have various changes and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of one or more embodiments of this specification shall be included in the scope of the claims of one or more embodiments of this specification.

Claims

1. An ion beam cross-section polishing device, characterized in that: It includes an ion source, a first focusing module, and a second focusing module; wherein, The ion source is used to generate an ion beam; The first focusing module is used to focus the ion beam to increase the beam current density of the ion beam and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam; The ion beam focused by the first focusing module enters the second focusing module, and the second focusing module focuses the ion beam in one direction and diverges the ion beam in another direction, thereby forming a long strip ion beam spot to irradiate the surface of the sample to be polished, thereby achieving uniform and efficient ion beam cross-section polishing.

2. An ion beam cross-section polishing device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The energy and beam current of the ion beam generated by the ion source can be adjusted according to the material to be polished and the desired polishing effect.

3. An ion beam cross-section polishing device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The first focusing module is configured as an Einzel lens.

4. An ion beam cross-section polishing device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The electrode voltage of the Einzel lens can be adjusted to optimize the focusing effect.

5. An ion beam cross-section polishing device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The second focusing module is configured as a quadrupole lens, which performs unidirectional focusing on the ion beam through the non-uniform electric field generated by the quadrupole lens.

6. An ion beam cross-section polishing device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: The electrode voltage of the quadrupole lens can be adjusted to precisely control the shape and size of the ion beam spot to match the size and shape of the sample to be polished.

7. An ion beam cross-section polishing method, characterized in that: Applied to an ion beam cross-section polishing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, the method comprises the following steps: generating an ion beam using an ion source; The ion beam is focused by a first focusing module to increase the beam current density of the ion beam and preliminarily adjust the shape and divergence of the ion beam; The ion beam focused by the first focusing module enters the second focusing module, and the second focusing module focuses the ion beam in one direction and diverges the ion beam in another direction, thereby forming a long strip ion beam spot; The shaped ion beam is irradiated onto the surface of the sample to be polished, achieving uniform and efficient ion beam cross-section polishing.

8. An ion beam cross-section polishing method as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that: Also includes the steps: The energy and beam current of the ion beam are adjusted according to the material to be polished and the required polishing effect.

9. An ion beam cross-section polishing method as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that: Also includes the steps: Adjusting the electrode voltage of the first focusing module to optimize the focusing effect; And, the electrode voltage of the second focusing module is adjusted to accurately control the shape and size of the ion beam spot to match the size and shape of the sample to be polished.

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