A proposed laser source of ions for nanotechnology

Abstract

The generation of cold ion beams by laser collimation and subsequent laser ionization of a primary atomic beam is proposed. The primary beam, formed by a standard method, is collimated through transverse cooling by resonant laser radiation. Laser radiation is used also for the multi-step ionization of atoms in the collimated beam. The proposed method has the advantage of a low scatter of the initial ion energy (below 0.1 eV) and a high emittance in the region of the virtual source (∼10−6 cm rad at a beam current level of microamperes). The high monochromaticity of the obtained ion beam would allow the chromatic aberration effect to be significantly suppressed, which implies good prospects for using such sources in ion beam lithography. The proposed method would allow the range of elements used in ion beam sources to be expanded, which is an independent technological advantage.