WO2000038210A2 - Map ion diode puff valve and gas dam and method of using the same - Google Patents
Map ion diode puff valve and gas dam and method of using the same Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2000038210A2 WO2000038210A2 PCT/US1999/030541 US9930541W WO0038210A2 WO 2000038210 A2 WO2000038210 A2 WO 2000038210A2 US 9930541 W US9930541 W US 9930541W WO 0038210 A2 WO0038210 A2 WO 0038210A2
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- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- gas
- puff
- diaphragm
- coil
- puff valve
- Prior art date
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Classifications
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J27/00—Ion beam tubes
- H01J27/02—Ion sources; Ion guns
- H01J27/16—Ion sources; Ion guns using high-frequency excitation, e.g. microwave excitation
Definitions
- the present invention generally relates to the field of ion beam surface treatment. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus supplying gas in an ion source for generating an ion beam.
- Ion beam surface treatment may be accomplished using a magnetically confined anode plasma ("MAP") diode ion beam system such as that described in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,473,165, 5,525,805, 5,532,495, and 5,656,819, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
- MAP magnetically confined anode plasma
- a MAP ion diode provides repetitive, extractable ion beams with little or no rotation from an ion source in which the plasma position is determined by the magnetic field profiles rather than material surfaces.
- Such a MAP diode ion source can be used to prepare surfaces in various ways including hardening, cleaning, smoothing, production of nanocrystalline surfaces, preparation for subsequent coatings, roughening or texturing surfaces for other uses, or the production of materials with microstructural changes produced by rapid melt and resolidification.
- MAP diode ion source Experiments on the MAP diode ion source and ion extraction geometries have led to significant improvements in the operation of the MAP diode ion source, sometimes referred to herein as the MAP ion diode.
- the term "diode" is used because the device promotes unidirectional ion flow.
- a MAP ion diode system should exhibit the following characteristics: 1 .
- the system having the characteristics described above may be used to produce ion beams for treatment of materials using the ion beam surface treatment process in which material surfaces are exposed to a short pulse of ions ( ⁇ 0.05 milliseconds) with a total energy per pulse exceeding 0.05 Joules per square centimeter.
- the ion beam surface treatment process may be used to thermally cycle materials to temperatures from just above ambient temperature to many thousands of degrees Celsius, leading to cleaning, melting, or vaporization of the treated surface and resulting in surface modifications as described above.
- the MAP ion diode is a critical part of the ion beam surface treatment process since it allows the efficient conversion of a pulse of electrical energy to an intense beam of ions at the required energy densities over large treatment areas.
- a conventional MAP ion diode mechanical configuration is shown in Figure 7.
- the plasma source operation is initiated by energizing a puff valve 702, which releases a radially expanding puff of the working gas.
- the gas expands radially between a fast coil body 704 and an inner anode flux excluder 706.
- the fast coil 704 is energized.
- the fast coil pulse induces an electric field in the gas, which first ionizes, then drives azimuthal current in the ionized gas.
- the plasma is loaded onto magnetic field lines that are moved towards and finally through the opening between an inner anode flux excluder 706 and an outer anode flux excluder 708, and becomes the source of ions to be accelerated in a anode-cathode gap 710.
- the anode plasma Prior to energizing the puff valve, a power source is applied to a set of cathode coils 712, that are magnetic field coils on the opposite side of the anode flux excluders 706 and 708.
- cathode coils 712 generate a (primarily) radial magnetic field between a cathode coil housing 714 and the anode flux excluders 706 and 708.
- this magnetic field i.e., the applied field
- the anode flux excluders 706 and 708, cathode coil housing 714 and magnetic field geometry are arranged to allow the accelerated ions to propagate between the two cathode coils 712 and past a cathode flux excluder 716, through an opening 718, to a target (not shown) located at some position past the MAP ion diode.
- the magnetic field geometry is designed to minimize the beam rotation as it propagates to the target, thus enabling direct propagation of the beam to the target, near normal incidence of the beam on the target, and, if desired, a generally solid (as opposed to hollow) beam profile.
- the plasma generated by the fast coil 704 should be azimuthally symmetric and reproducible at the time of the high voltage power pulse. Azimuthal plasma asymmetries lead to large localized electron losses that reduce the MAP ion diode efficiency and may cause damage to the MAP ion diode hardware.
- both the design of the puff valve 702 and of the nozzle 720 are critical in supplying a uniform plasma.
- the puff valve 702 and nozzle 720 combination should provide adequate gas density near the fast coil 704 to allow ionization to be induced in the gas, forming the discharge, yet a sufficiently low density in the anode-cathode gap 710 region to avoid breakdown of the diode 700 before the ions are accelerated.
- the gas should also be azimuthally uniform enough to supply a uniform plasma surface in the anode-cathode gap 710.
- a further object of the present invention to supply a uniform plasma surface in the anode-cathode gap.
- a MAP ion diode in accordance with the present invention may comprise a gas feed, a puff valve for releasing a radially expanding puff of working gas, a nozzle for directing the radially expanding puff of working gas from an inlet opening adjacent to the puff valve to an outlet opening, and a gas dam positioned adjacent to the outlet end of the nozzle and within the nozzle.
- the MAP ion diode further comprises an insulating body defining one side of the nozzle, a coil winding within the insulating body near the outlet opening, and an inner anode flux excluder defining a wall of said nozzle.
- the MAP ion diode further comprises an outer anode flux excluder, wherein the outer anode flux excluder and the inner anode flux excluder define a third opening of the nozzle, and wherein the third opening is disposed opposite to the coil winding that is adjacent to the outlet opening, a set of cathode coils disposed generally opposite to the coil winding and downstream from the third opening; and a cathode flux excluder disposed generally opposite to the coil winding and downstream from the set of cathode coils.
- a puff valve for releasing a radially expanding gas puff having a generally radial azimuthal symmetry to a nozzle may comprise a gas feed, a diaphragm separating the gas feed and the nozzle, a diaphragm support plate restricting movement of the diaphragm in a first direction, a puff valve magnet coil having a number of turns such that the inductance of the puff valve magnet coil permits a current rise time lower than the respective image current decay time, wherein the puff valve magnet coil is positioned to create a magnetic field perpendicular to the diaphragm when a current is applied thereto; and an O-ring being in contact with the diaphragm when no current is applied to the puff valve magnet coil.
- the O-ring is made of a rubber having a hardness being approximately greater than 90 durometers.
- the O-ring is made of a rubber having a hardness being about 90 durometers.
- the puff valve magnet coil has more than three turns.
- the puff valve magnet coil has 4-20 turns. More preferably, the puff valve magnet coil has six turns.
- the O-ring is a captive O-ring.
- the puff valve further comprises a gas reservoir adjacent to the diaphragm, wherein the gas reservoir is downstream in the direction of gas flow from the gas feed.
- the gas reservoir has a characteristic length determined by the speed of sound in the gas divided by a pulse length. More preferably, the characteristic length is about 2 mm. Moreover, the gas reservoir preferably has a characteristic length of 10 n, wherein n is the speed of sound in the gas divided by a pulse length.
- the puff valve further comprises a gas flow restriction being positioned in the gas feed.
- the gas reservoir increases in width towards the gas feed. More preferably, the gas reservoir increases in width uniformly towards the gas feed.
- the puff valve further comprises an O-ring groove, wherein the O-ring rests in the O-ring groove.
- the puff valve further comprises a coil mount, wherein the puff valve magnet coil is mounted on the coil mount.
- the coil mount comprises a ceramic material.
- the puff valve further comprises a mount back adjacent to the coil mount.
- Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of producing ion beams in an ion generator having a gas feed in fluid communication with a gas reservoir, the gas reservoir being separated from a vacuum system by a diaphragm valve operated by a magnetic coil and a nozzle having a gas dam positioned therein, the method comprises the steps of, supplying gas through the gas feed and into the gas reservoir, supplying a current pulse to the magnetic coil, the magnet being positioned to generate a magnetic field in the region of the diaphragm, displacing the diaphragm with a magnetic field, and emitting a puff of gas from the displaced diaphragm, the puff of gas traveling through the nozzle past the gas dam.
- the step of supplying further comprises passing the gas through a restriction in the gas feed.
- the step of supplying further comprises limiting the inductance of the magnetic coil whereby the rise time of the current pulse through the magnetic coil is lower than the respective image current decay time.
- the step of displacing further comprises positioning the diaphragm in a plane generally normal to the direction of the magnetic field generated by the magnet coil.
- Figure 1 depicts a MAP ion diode in accordance with the present invention.
- Figure 2 depicts a puff valve for use in a MAP ion diode in accordance with the present invention.
- Figure 3 through Figure 6 are graphs depicting empirical performance data for a MAP ion diode having a gas dam in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 7 depicts a conventional MAP diode.
- the invention includes improvement to the prior puff valve structures and the provision of a radial disk in the puff valve nozzle to reduce azimuthal asymmetries. Such improvements improve the symmetry and reproducibility of the plasma and ion beam.
- the present invention also reduces electron losses and the resultant ion beam diode damage.
- a MAP ion diode mechanical configuration in accordance with the present invention is shown in Figure 1.
- the plasma source operation is initiated by energizing a puff valve 102, which releases a radially expanding puff of the working gas that is supplied from a gas feed 124.
- the gas expands radially between a fast coil body 104 and an inner anode flux excluder 106, and passes a gas dam 118.
- the fast coil 122 is energized.
- the fast coil pulse induces an electric field in the gas, which first ionizes, then drives azimuthal current in the ionized gas.
- the plasma is loaded onto magnetic field lines that are moved towards and finally through the opening between an inner anode flux excluder 106 and an outer anode flux excluder 108, and becomes the source of ions to be accelerated in a anode-cathode gap 110.
- the plasma is in this location, it is referred to as the anode plasma.
- a power source Prior to energizing the puff valve, a power source is applied to a set of cathode coils 112, that are magnetic field coils on the opposite side of the anode flux excluders 106 and 108. These cathode coils 112 generate a (primarily) radial magnetic field between a cathode coil housing 114 and the anode flux excluders 106 and 108.
- this magnetic field (i.e., the applied field) inhibits electron flow from the cathode coil housing 114 to the anode flux excluders 106 and 108 while allowing acceleration of the ions from the anode plasma through the applied magnetic field.
- the anode flux excluders 106 and 108, cathode coil housing 114 and magnetic field geometry are arranged to allow the accelerated ions to propagate between the two cathode coils 112 and past a cathode flux excluder 116, through an opening 118, to a target (not shown) located at some position past the MAP ion diode.
- the puff valve includes an electrically conducting diaphragm 202 (e.g. spring copper), a magnet coil 204, a coil mount 206, a mount back 208, an outer diaphragm O-ring 210, an inner diaphragm O-ring 212, and a diaphragm support plate 214.
- the diaphragm 202 prevents the gas from entering the vacuum system by sealing against the outer diaphragm O-ring 210 and the inner diaphragm O-ring 212. Gaskets of various materials and other pressure seals may additionally be used as, or used in place of, an O-ring.
- the inner surface of the diaphragm 202 is compressed between the diaphragm support plate 214 and the inner diaphragm O-ring 212 and the outer diaphragm O-ring 210.
- the magnet coil 204 is positioned in the puff valve body near the outer edge of the diaphragm 202.
- the puff valve is opened by applying a short pulse of current to the magnet coil 204. Because the diaphragm is a conductor, the pulsed magnetic field induces image currents in the diaphragm 202, which interact with the magnetic field. If the coil current (magnetic field) is large enough, the resulting force on the diaphragm 202 is in the axial direction and will move the diaphragm 202 away from the vacuum-sealing outer diaphragm O-ring 210.
- a puff valve in accordance with the present invention includes a puff valve magnetic coil having more than three, and preferably four to six, and more preferably six coil turns.
- the valve also uses a hard rubber O-ring (e.g. having a hardness of greater than 70 durometers, preferably 90 durometers) in order to improve azimuthal gas uniformity.
- the captive outer diaphragm O-ring geometry 210 is used to minimize movement of the O-ring and the like.
- the puff valve of the present invention includes a gas plenum of reduced volume in order to reduce the volume of gas being admitted into the vacuum system. Further, the puff valve of the present invention advantageously includes a restriction in the gas source in order to minimize gas loading. Further, a puff valve according to the present invention preferably has a more uniform cross section in the region within 4 mm of the nozzle opening.
- Increasing the puff valve magnet turns reduces the magnetic field perturbations of the coil feed relative to the field produced by the turns. Since the force on the diaphragm 202 is proportional to the square of the magnetic field, the force and thus the deflection of the diaphragm 202 is very sensitive to variations in the magnetic field. By reducing the relative error in the magnetic field due to the perturbations resulting from the geometry of the current feed, the deflection of the diaphragm 202 is also symmetrized.
- the number of turns in the puff valve magnet coil 204 can not be increased arbitrarily. The number of turns is limited by the necessary current rise-time. Because of the resistance of the diaphragm 202, the image currents typically decay away on a time-scale of about 10-30 microseconds. In order to move the diaphragm 202, the current in the puff valve magnet coil 204 must reach the necessary value before the image currents die away. Since the current rise-time increases with circuit inductance, and the puff valve magnet coil 204 adds to the circuit inductance, the inductance of the puff valve magnet coil 204 must be low enough to keep the rise-time below the image current decay time.
- the coil inductance can be increased if the driver capacitance is decreased while increasing the voltage, but the voltage is limited by coil insulation, heat removal, and coil fabrication considerations.
- the optimum number of turns is about 6.
- the number of turns for the puff valve magnet coil 204 of this type should be between about 4 and 20. Beyond 20 turns the coil inductance becomes so large that the drive voltage becomes excessive.
- the diaphragm 202 must press against the outer diaphragm O-ring 210 enough to conform the rubber surface to the surface of the diaphragm 202 to make a gas seal. This pressure compresses the O-ring.
- the diaphragm 202 When the puff valve magnet coil 204 is energized, the diaphragm 202 must move enough to decompress the outer diaphragm O-ring 210 before a gap can appear and gas begins to flow.
- the outer diaphragm O-ring 210 decompresses non-uniformly, it will lead to variations in the gap between the outer diaphragm O-ring 210 and the diaphragm 202. This azimuthal variation in the gap will cause variations in the gas flow and ultimately in the plasma. These variations can be minimized by minimizing the compression of the outer diaphragm O-ring 210.
- the outer diaphragm O-ring 210 compression is minimized by choosing a material with small compressibility, thus the choice of a 90 durometer O-ring (instead of the standard 70 durometer O-ring.) Even harder O-rings can be used, limited only by the force needed to seal the diaphragm to the O-ring surface.
- an outer diaphragm O-ring groove 220 permits the diaphragm 202 to rest on the outer O-ring instead of on the substrate 224. With the diaphragm 202 resting on the outer diaphragm O-ring 210, the gas delivery system can be adjusted for the minimum compression of the outer diaphragm O-ring 210 (in order to minimize the azimuthal variations in decompression) while still sealing the gas to the downstream vacuum interface.
- the gas reservoir (or plenum) 216 is the volume of gas just upstream of the outer diaphragm O-ring 210.
- the gas reservoir 216 supplies gas as gas flows past the gas formed between the diaphragm 202 and the outer diaphragm O-ring 210 when the magnetic coil 204 is operated to open the puff valve.
- the volume of the gas reservoir 216 is made as small as possible to limit the amount of gas entering the vacuum system.
- the volume of the gas reservoir 216 must be large enough to supply a high pressure source of gas until the fast coil 104 is fired since excessive depletion of the gas in the gas reservoir 216 will reduce the sharpness of the neutral density gradient in the nozzle 120 ( Figure 1 ).
- the puff valve 102 ( Figure 1 ) may be open for approximately 40 microseconds before the fast coil 104 fires.
- the characteristic distance based on the sound speed is approximately 2 mm. Therefore, in an exemplary embodiment, the gas reservoir 216 should not be less than this value to avoid gas depletion during the pulse. Further, in a preferred embodiment, the gas reservoir 216 should be no more than a factor of 10 times this value to minimize gas loading of the vacuum system.
- a restriction 218 is provided in the gas supply to the diaphragm area.
- the restriction 218 is placed at the end of gas reservoir 216 to minimize gas loading after the fast coil 104 fires.
- the restriction as illustrated appears as a length of reduced cross section gas feed, other geometries may serve a similar purpose and function.
- the gas reservoir 216 preferably increases in width as quickly and uniformly as practical, within the limitations of the puff valve geometry, moving upstream (i.e. counter to the direction of gas flow) towards the gas feed 222, until a maximum reservoir dimension is reached.
- the MAP ion diode is designed to be a fast, repetitive, and reliable system. As such, it is advantageous to cool to all components that generate heat.
- the puff valve magnet coil 204 is one such component since the resistance of the coil winding will necessarily generate some heat on each current pulse.
- the puff valve magnet coil 204 therefore is mounted on the coil mount 206 which supplies both electrical insulation for the puff valve magnet coil 204 and functions as a heat sink, conducting away the heat generated by the puff valve magnet coil 204.
- Exemplary materials for the coil mount 206 include ceramics.
- the coil mount 206 is in contact with the mount back 208 that allows heat to be removed from the puff valve body.
- Exemplary materials for the mount back 208 include good thermal conductors such as a metals including gold, copper, and aluminum.
- the standard plasma source configuration (Fig. 7) is very sensitive to the geometry of the gas nozzle 120, the location of the fast coil 104 relative to puff valve 102, and the location of the gap between the inner anode flux excluder 106 and outer anode flux excluder 108.
- a disc of material e.g. plastic
- a gas dam 118 improves the plasma production uniformity, consistency, and reduces the sensitivity to the variations mentioned above.
- the gas dam 118 the plasma is more uniform, has higher density and is more reproducible. These properties are due to an increase in neutral density as gas is deflected by the gas dam 118, and the elimination of the direct path from the plasma source to the anode-cathode gap. This reduces the asymmetries in the gas near the fast coil 104 and in the plasma as it moves into the acceleration region.
- FIGS 3 through 6 show experimental measurements, which demonstrate the improvement from the addition of the gas dam 118. Plasma measurements were made between the outer anode flux excluder 108 and the inner anode flux excluder 106 at 6 azimuthal locations.
- Figure 3 shows measurements with the gas dam 118 installed. There is clear evidence of a plasma during the rise-time of the fast coil current. While there may be significant variations in the amplitude of the signals, there is clearly plasma at each location.
- the traces include: Vcor - the voltage corrected for the inductive voltage drop between the monitor and diode; IshkXI O - the total current to the diode multiplied by 10; lionXI O - the ion current measured in the diode multiplied by 10; and Fcup - the current density as measured by a Faraday cup 65 cm from the diode.
- the diode impedance is well behaved, the ion current to total current efficiency runs from 50% to 70% during the pulse, and there is a large ion current density (as indicated by the Fcup) 65 cm downstream of the diode.
- the voltage initially rises to -500 kV but then rapidly drops to zero and the total current rises to almost the short circuit current for the power source. While the ion current appears significant, the ion beam energy is very small because the diode voltage is nearly zero. In addition, the ion current density downstream (Fcup) is tiny compared with the operation with the gas dam 118. While the diode operation can be improved somewhat by adjusting the puff valve timing relative to when the fast coil 104 is energized, the operation does not approach the results of a MAP ion diode having a gas dam.
Abstract
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Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU23763/00A AU2376300A (en) | 1998-12-22 | 1999-12-22 | Map ion diode puff valve and gas dam and method of using the same |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11368298P | 1998-12-22 | 1998-12-22 | |
US60/113,682 | 1998-12-22 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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WO2000038210A2 true WO2000038210A2 (en) | 2000-06-29 |
WO2000038210A3 WO2000038210A3 (en) | 2000-11-23 |
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Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US1999/030541 WO2000038210A2 (en) | 1998-12-22 | 1999-12-22 | Map ion diode puff valve and gas dam and method of using the same |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
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AU (1) | AU2376300A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2000038210A2 (en) |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5473165A (en) * | 1993-11-16 | 1995-12-05 | Stinnett; Regan W. | Method and apparatus for altering material |
US5848110A (en) * | 1996-02-20 | 1998-12-08 | Sandia Corporation | Method and apparatus for transmutation of atomic nuclei |
-
1999
- 1999-12-22 WO PCT/US1999/030541 patent/WO2000038210A2/en active Application Filing
- 1999-12-22 AU AU23763/00A patent/AU2376300A/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5473165A (en) * | 1993-11-16 | 1995-12-05 | Stinnett; Regan W. | Method and apparatus for altering material |
US5848110A (en) * | 1996-02-20 | 1998-12-08 | Sandia Corporation | Method and apparatus for transmutation of atomic nuclei |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
REASS ET AL: "DEVELOPMENT LEADING TO A 200 KV, 20 KA, 30 HERTZ RADAR-LIKE MODULATOR SYSTEM FOR INTENSE ION BEAM PROCESSING" INTERNATIONAL POWER MODULATOR SYMPOSIUM,US,NEW YORK, NY: IEEE, 25 June 1996 (1996-06-25), pages 97-100, XP000868511 ISBN: 0-7803-3077-3 * |
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Publication number | Publication date |
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WO2000038210A3 (en) | 2000-11-23 |
AU2376300A (en) | 2000-07-12 |
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