Beam tube and layout of a linear accelerator

Abstract

An ion implantation system includes an ion source for generating an ion beam, a terminal station for holding a substrate to be implanted by the ion beam, and a linear accelerator disposed between the ion source and the terminal station and adapted to accelerate the ion beam, the linear accelerator including a beam tube for transporting the ion beam, the beam tube having at least five adjacent sidewalls, at least one resonator coupled to the beam tube, and at least one turbomolecular pump coupled to the beam tube, wherein at least one of the at least five adjacent sidewalls has an opening formed therein for providing access to an interior of the beam tube.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Nonprovisional Patent No. 18 / 589,202, filed February 27, 2024, entitled “Bundle Tube and Layout of a Linear Accelerator”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This invention relates to the field of ion implantation devices, and more particularly to a linear accelerator for use in ion implantation devices. Background Technology

[0004] Ion implantation is the process of introducing dopants or impurities into a substrate through ion bombardment. A typical ion implantation system includes an ion source and a series of beamline assemblies. The ion source may include a chamber for generating ions, which are then transported to the substrate via the beamline assemblies. One ion implantation system suitable for generating medium- to high-energy ion beams employs a linear accelerator. The linear accelerator includes a beam tube for transmitting the ion beam and a series of resonators containing AC or RF electrodes arranged around the beam tube to accelerate the ion beam to increasingly higher energies along successive resonators.

[0005] Traditionally, linear accelerators have a beam tube with four adjacent sidewalls, defining a square or rhomboid shape when viewed from the end. Multiple resonators are mounted to the sidewalls along the length of the beam tube. Additionally, multiple turbomolecular pumps can be mounted to the sidewalls to establish a vacuum within the beam tube. Furthermore, multiple quadrupole magnets can be mounted to the sidewalls for focusing and guiding the ion beam within the beam tube. Various other components, cavities, etc., can also be mounted to the sidewalls. With all these components mounted to the beam tube, the space left on the sidewalls is relatively small, making it difficult to provide access to the interior of the beam tube to facilitate the repair and maintenance of internal components (e.g., electrodes, coils, etc.). As a result, accessing the interior of the beam tube and performing repair and maintenance is typically difficult, cumbersome, and time-consuming. Moreover, linear accelerators with this configuration occupy a large area due to the long beam tube, thus taking up significant valuable space within the manufacturing facility.

[0006] This disclosure provides information regarding these and other considerations. Summary of the Invention

[0007] This invention aims to present some conceptual choices in a simplified form. This invention is not intended to identify key or essential features of a target, nor is it intended as an aid in determining the scope of a target.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an ion implantation system is provided, comprising an ion source for generating an ion beam, a terminal station for holding a substrate to be implanted by the ion beam, and a linear accelerator disposed between the ion source and the terminal station and adapted to accelerate the ion beam. The linear accelerator includes a beam tube for transmitting the ion beam, the beam tube having at least five adjacent sidewalls, at least one resonator coupled to the beam tube, and at least one turbomolecular pump coupled to the beam tube, wherein at least one of the at least five adjacent sidewalls has an opening formed therein for providing a channel into the interior of the beam tube.

[0009] According to another embodiment of this disclosure, an ion implantation system is provided, comprising an ion source for generating an ion beam, a terminal station for holding a substrate to be implanted by the ion beam, and a linear accelerator disposed between the ion source and the terminal station and adapted to accelerate the ion beam. The linear accelerator includes a beam tube for transmitting the ion beam, the beam tube having six adjacent sidewalls that define a hexagon when viewed from an end of the beam tube, at least one resonator coupled to the beam tube, and at least one turbomolecular pump coupled to the beam tube, wherein at least one of the at least five adjacent sidewalls has an opening formed therein for providing a channel into the interior of the beam tube.

[0010] According to another embodiment of this disclosure, a beam tube for a linear accelerator for an ion implantation system is provided, the beam tube comprising at least five adjacent sidewalls. Attached Figure Description

[0011] The accompanying drawings are included to further illustrate the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an ion implantation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 2A This is an end view illustrating an embodiment of a linear accelerator according to the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 2B This is an explanation Figure 2A A three-dimensional view of the left side of the linear accelerator shown in the diagram;

[0015] Figure 2C This is an explanation Figure 2A A three-dimensional view of the right side of the linear accelerator shown;

[0016] Figure 3 It is a display Figure 2A A stereoscopic view of the left side of the intermediate linear accelerator, in which several quadrupole magnets have been removed to provide access to the interior of the beam tube;

[0017] Figure 4 This is a right-side 3D diagram, illustrating... Figure 2A The linear accelerator shown has multiple access doors in its pump chamber to provide access to the interior of the beam tube.

[0018] The illustrations are not necessarily drawn to scale. They are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to depict specific parameters. The illustrations are intended to describe exemplary embodiments and should not be considered limiting. In the illustrations, the same numbers denote the same components. Detailed Implementation

[0019] Systems and apparatus conforming to this disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying illustrations, in which embodiments of the systems and apparatus are shown. Systems and apparatus may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to make this disclosure thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of the systems and apparatus to those skilled in the art.

[0020] As used herein, a component or operation stated in the singular and preceded by "a" or "an" is also understood to include multiple components or operations. Furthermore, reference to "one embodiment" in this disclosure is not intended to exclude the existence of other embodiments containing the described features.

[0021] Reference Figure 1 This diagram illustrates an ion implantation system 100 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. The ion implantation system 100 may represent a beamline ion implanter; some components are omitted for clarity. The ion implantation system 100 may include an ion source 104 and a gas chamber 106 located within a terminal 102. The ion source 104 may include an extraction assembly and a filter (not shown) configured to generate an ion beam 108 at a first energy. Suitable first ion energy ranges from 5 kiloelectron volts to 100 kiloelectron volts. This disclosure is not limited in this respect. To form a high-energy ion beam, the ion implantation system 100 may include various additional components for accelerating the ion beam 108, as discussed further below.

[0022] The ion implantation system 100 may include an analyzer 110 adapted to receive and analyze an ion beam 108. In some embodiments, the analyzer 110 may receive the ion beam 108 energized by an extraction optics component located at the ion source 104, wherein the ion energy is in the range of 100 keV or less, particularly 80 keV or less. In other embodiments, the analyzer 110 may receive the ion beam 108 accelerated to higher energies by a DC accelerator column, such as 200 keV, 250 keV, 300 keV, 400 keV, or 500 keV. Embodiments are not limited in this respect. The ion implantation system 100 may also include a linear accelerator 112 located downstream of the analyzer 110. The linear accelerator 112 may include a beam tube 113 for transmitting the ion beam 108, and a plurality of accelerator stages arranged in series, represented by resonators 114 coupled to the beam tube 113. The resonators 114 may be powered by their respective dedicated radio frequency sources (not shown separately). The linear accelerator 112 may also include a plurality of turbomolecular pumps 115 coupled to the beam tube 113 via a pump chamber 117 for establishing and maintaining a vacuum (or near-vacuum) within the beam tube 113. The linear accelerator 112 may also include a plurality of quadrupole magnets 119 coupled to the beam tube 113 for focusing the ion beam 108.

[0023] A given stage of the linear accelerator 112 can be driven by a given resonator to generate an AC voltage signal in the megahertz range (radio frequency range), wherein the AC voltage signal generates an AC field at the electrodes of the given stage. The AC field acts on the accelerated ion beam 108, wherein the ion beam 108 can be delivered to each stage in the form of a focused ion beam. The linear accelerator 112 may also include one or more focusers 121 coupled to the upstream beam tube 113 of the first resonator 114. The focuser 121 can be configured to receive a continuous ion beam and generate a focused ion beam by the action of a radio frequency resonator within the focuser 121. The resonator 114 can be operated to accelerate the ion beam 108 to higher energies in stages. Thus, the focuser 121 can be considered as a first accelerator stage, differing from the downstream resonator 114 in that the focuser 121 receives a continuous ion beam.

[0024] In various embodiments, the ion implantation system 100 may include additional components such as a filter magnet 122, a scanner 124, and a collimator 126, the general functions of which are well known and will not be described in detail here. Thus, the high-energy ion beam accelerated by the linear accelerator 112, represented by the high-energy ion beam 128, can be delivered to the terminal station 130 of the ion implantation system 100 for processing the substrate 132.

[0025] Reference Figure 2A-2CThe following figures show separate end view, left perspective view, and right perspective view of the linear accelerator 112 disclosed herein. These views have been simplified to emphasize certain features of the linear accelerator 112. Those skilled in the art will understand that, for clarity, Figure 2A The view shown in -C omits various components and features common to linear accelerators.

[0026] like Figure 2A As shown in -C, the beam tube 113 of the linear accelerator 112 can be suspended on a frame or support 133. The linear accelerator 112 can be hexagonal in shape (i.e., when viewed from the end face) with six adjacent sidewalls, including a first sidewall 134a, a second sidewall 134b, a third sidewall 134c, a fourth sidewall 134d, a fifth sidewall 134e, and a sixth sidewall 134f. This configuration contrasts with conventional beam tubes, which are square or rhomboid in shape (i.e., when viewed from the end face) with four adjacent sidewalls. Therefore, compared to a conventional tetrahedral beam tube, the beam tube 113 of this disclosure provides two additional sidewalls / mounting surfaces for accommodating the components of the linear accelerator 112 and for providing access to the interior of the linear accelerator 112 (as further described below). Alternative embodiments of this disclosure contemplate that the beam tube 113 can be implemented with five or more sidewalls. This disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0027] In a non-limiting embodiment, such as Figure 2AAs shown in -C, a first plurality of resonators 114a can be mounted in a linear series on a first sidewall 134a of the bundle tube 113 along its length. A second plurality of resonators 114b can be mounted in a linear series on a second sidewall 134b of the bundle tube 113 along its length. A pump chamber 117 can be mounted on a third sidewall 134c of the bundle tube 113, and a plurality of turbomolecular pumps 115 can be mounted in a linear series on a pump chamber 117 along its length. A third plurality of resonators 114c can be mounted in a linear series on a fourth sidewall 134d of the bundle tube 113 along its length. A fourth plurality of resonators 114d can be mounted in a linear series on a fifth sidewall 134e of the bundle tube 113 along its length. A plurality of quadrupole magnets 119 can be mounted in a linear series on a sixth sidewall 134f of the bundle tube 113 along its length. In addition to the components described above, the first clusterer 121a may be coupled to the second sidewall 134b of the bundle tube 113, located upstream of the second plurality of resonators 114b, and the second clusterer 121b may be coupled to the fifth sidewall 134e of the bundle tube 113, located upstream of the fourth plurality of resonators 114d. The above arrangement is not intended to be limiting; the resonators 114a, 114b, 114c, 114d, pump chamber 117, turbomolecular pump 115, quadrupole magnet 119, and clusterers 121a and 121b may be mounted on the sidewalls 134a, 134b, 134c, 134d, 134e, and 134f of the bundle tube 113 in any practical arrangement, without limitation.

[0028] In various embodiments, such as Figure 2A As best shown, one or more of the first, second, third, and fourth resonators 114a, 114b, 114c, 114d, and / or one or two clusterers 121a, 121b, may be specifically shaped to facilitate coordinated alignment / mounting around the bundle tube 113. For example, resonator 114a may generally be cylindrical, but may have a groove 123 formed at its base to allow resonator 114a to be mounted on the sidewall 134a while providing clearance for the quadrupole magnet 119. Other resonators 114b-d and clusterers 121a, 121b may have similar shapes. More generally, resonators 114a, 114b, 114c, 114d and clusterer ab may be smaller at their junction with the bundle tube 113 than at their distance from the bundle tube 113. In this context, "smaller" should be defined as having a smaller cross-sectional dimension or diameter.

[0029] Reference Figure 3Access to the interior of the bundle tube 113 can be obtained by removing one or more quadrupole magnets 119. For example, when one or more quadrupole magnets 119 are removed, a corresponding opening 140 in the sixth sidewall 134f of the bundle tube 113 may be exposed, thereby providing access to the interior of the bundle tube 113. Alternatively, see also... Figure 4 The pump chamber 117 may include one or more openings having removable / closable access doors 142, located between and / or near the turbomolecular pumps 115, for providing access to the interior of the bundle tube 113 via the pump chamber 117. Therefore, the openings 140 and / or access doors 142 may be located on opposite sides of the bundle tube 113, providing convenient and rapid access to the interior of the bundle tube 113, for example, for repairs or maintenance, adjustments to internal components, etc.

[0030] In view of the foregoing, the embodiments disclosed herein achieve at least the following advantages. As a first advantage, the hexagonal bundle tube 113 of this disclosure provides a larger surface area over a given length compared to a conventional quadrilateral bundle tube. Therefore, the bundle tube 113 can accommodate more components (e.g., resonators, bundlers, turbomolecular pumps, quadrupole magnets, etc.) over a given length and / or can be implemented with a smaller overall footprint compared to a conventional quadrilateral bundle tube. As a second advantage, the increased surface area of ​​the hexagonal bundle tube 113 of this disclosure provides more space, allowing for convenient and rapid access to the interior of the bundle tube 113.

[0031] While certain embodiments of this disclosure have been described herein, the disclosure is not limited thereto, as its scope is as broad as permitted by those skilled in the art, and the specification can be interpreted accordingly. Therefore, the foregoing description should not be construed as restrictive. Other modifications will be contemplated by those skilled in the art within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An ion implantation system, characterized in that, include: An ion source, used to generate an ion beam; A terminal station for holding a substrate to be implanted by the ion beam; as well as A linear accelerator, disposed between the ion source and the terminal station, and adapted to accelerate the ion beam, the linear accelerator comprising: A beam tube for transmitting the ion beam, the beam tube having at least five adjacent sidewalls; At least one resonator, coupled to the bundle tube; and At least one turbomolecular pump is coupled to the bundle tube; At least one of the at least five adjacent sidewalls of the bundle tube has an opening formed therein for providing a passage into the interior of the bundle tube.

2. The ion implantation system according to claim 1 further includes at least one quadrupole magnet coupled to the bundle tube.

3. The ion implantation system according to claim 1 further includes at least one bundler coupled to the bundle tube.

4. The ion implantation system of claim 1, wherein the at least one turbomolecular pump comprises a plurality of turbomolecular pumps coupled to the bundle tube via a pump chamber coupled to one of the at least five adjacent sidewalls of the bundle tube.

5. The ion implantation system of claim 1, wherein the at least five adjacent sidewalls comprise six adjacent sidewalls, and the six adjacent sidewalls define a hexagon when the bundle is viewed from the end.

6. The ion implantation system of claim 5, wherein the at least one resonator comprises a first plurality of resonators, a second plurality of resonators, a third plurality of resonators, and a fourth plurality of resonators, and wherein the at least one turbomolecular pump comprises a plurality of turbomolecular pumps, and the ion implantation system further comprises a plurality of quadrupole magnets coupled to the bundle tube via a pump chamber, wherein: The first plurality of resonators are coupled to the first sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; The second plurality of resonators are coupled to the second sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; The pump chamber is coupled to the third sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; The third plurality of resonators are coupled to the fourth sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; The fourth plurality of resonators are coupled to the fifth sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; as well as The plurality of quadrupole magnets are coupled to the sixth sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls.

7. The ion implantation system of claim 6 further includes at least one bundler coupled to at least one of the first sidewall, the second sidewall, the fourth sidewall, and the fifth sidewall among the six adjacent sidewalls.

8. The ion implantation system of claim 6, wherein the pump chamber includes a plurality of openings formed therein for providing access to the interior of the bundle tube, the plurality of openings in the pump chamber being located between the turbomolecular pumps.

9. The ion implantation system of claim 6, wherein at least one of the quadrupole magnets may be removed to provide access to the interior of the bundle tube.

10. The ion implantation system of claim 1, wherein the at least one resonator is smaller at the junction of the at least one resonator and the bundle tube relative to the portion of the at least one resonator farther from the bundle tube.

11. An ion implantation system, characterized in that, include: An ion source, used to generate an ion beam; A terminal station for holding a substrate to be implanted by the ion beam; as well as A linear accelerator, disposed between the ion source and the terminal station, and adapted to accelerate the ion beam, the linear accelerator comprising: A beam tube for transmitting the ion beam, the beam tube having six adjacent sidewalls that define a hexagon when viewed from the end of the beam tube; At least one resonator, coupled to the bundle tube; and At least one turbomolecular pump is coupled to the bundle tube; At least one of the six adjacent sidewalls of the bundle tube has an opening formed therein for providing a passage into the interior of the bundle tube.

12. The ion implantation system of claim 11 further includes at least one quadrupole magnet coupled to the bundle tube.

13. The ion implantation system of claim 11, further comprising at least one bundler coupled to the bundle tube.

14. The ion implantation system of claim 11, wherein the at least one turbomolecular pump comprises a plurality of turbomolecular pumps coupled to the bundle tube via a pump chamber coupled to one of the six adjacent sidewalls of the bundle tube.

15. The ion implantation system of claim 11, wherein the at least one resonator comprises a first plurality of resonators, a second plurality of resonators, a third plurality of resonators, and a fourth plurality of resonators, and wherein the at least one turbomolecular pump comprises a plurality of turbomolecular pumps, and the ion implantation system further comprises a plurality of quadrupole magnets coupled to the bundle tube via a pump chamber, wherein: The first plurality of resonators are coupled to the first sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; The second plurality of resonators are coupled to the second sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; The pump chamber is coupled to the third sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; The third plurality of resonators are coupled to the fourth sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; The fourth plurality of resonators are coupled to the fifth sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls; as well as The plurality of quadrupole magnets are coupled to the sixth sidewall of the six adjacent sidewalls.

16. The ion implantation system of claim 15, further comprising at least one concentrator coupled to at least one of the first sidewall, the second sidewall, the fourth sidewall, and the fifth sidewall among the six adjacent sidewalls.

17. The ion implantation system of claim 15, wherein the pump chamber includes a plurality of openings formed therein for providing access to the interior of the bundle tube, the plurality of openings in the pump chamber being located between the turbomolecular pumps.

18. The ion implantation system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the quadrupole magnets may be removed to provide access to the interior of the bundle tube.

19. The ion implantation system of claim 11, wherein the at least one resonator is smaller at the junction of the at least one resonator and the bundle tube relative to the portion of the at least one resonator farther from the bundle tube.

20. A beam tube for a linear accelerator in an ion implantation system, characterized in that, The bundle tube includes at least five adjacent sidewalls.

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