On the simultaneous extraction of positive ions and electrons from single-grid ICP source

Abstract

The results of investigations on the simultaneous extraction of positive ions and electrons from a single-grid ICP source are reported. It is shown that the single-grid ion source is capable of generating coincident ion and electron flows in contrast to the more common two- or three-grid sources. Electron and ion emission characteristics of the source are presented for the cases of DC and RF acceleration bias. A method of ion/electron current ratio control is proposed allowing to change the current compensation state of the ion beam from non-compensated to highly over-compensated. The researches were conducted in the ion energy range 10–250 eV with a high ion current density of 5 mA/cm2, so the presented results may be useful for modern technology applications.