Patent Application
20220183137
The present disclosure relates generally to high-energy ion implanters and, more particularly, to modular linear accelerator assemblies of ion implanters.
Ion implantation is a process of introducing dopants or impurities into a substrate via bombardment. Ion implantation systems include an ion source and a series of beam-line components. The ion source may comprise a chamber where ions are generated. The ion source may also include a power source and an extraction electrode assembly disposed near the chamber. The beam-line components may include, for example, a mass analyzer, a first acceleration or deceleration stage, a collimator, and a second acceleration or deceleration stage. Much like a series of optical lenses for manipulating a light beam, the beam-line components can filter, focus, and manipulate ions or an ion beam having particular species, shape, energy, and/or other qualities. The ion beam passes through the beam-line components and may be directed toward a substrate mounted on a platen or clamp.
Some ion implantation systems include a linear accelerator (LINAC) in which a series of electrodes are arranged as tubes to conduct and accelerate the ion beam to increasingly higher energies. LINACs may be driven by a signal using a resonator circuit including a coil and a capacitor. Some current LINACs are built on a fixed platform, which reduces the ability to customize the LINAC based on customer and/or product needs.
What is therefore needed is a LINAC that enables modular design and integration.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is the summary intended as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In one approach, a linear accelerator assembly may include a central support within a chamber, and a plurality of modules coupled to the central support, at least one module of the plurality of modules including an electrode having an aperture for receiving and delivering an ion beam along a beamline axis.
In another approach, an ion implanter may include an ion source operable to generate and extract an ion beam, and a linear accelerator assembly operable to receive the ion beam, wherein the linear accelerator assembly may include a central support extending within an interior of a vacuum chamber, and a plurality of modules coupled to the central support, at least one module of the plurality of modules including an electrode having an aperture for receiving and delivering an ion beam along a beamline axis.
In yet another approach, a linear accelerator assembly of an ion implanter may include a central support within a chamber, the central support extending parallel to a beamline axis. The linear accelerator assembly may further include a plurality of quadrupole modules and a plurality of resonator modules each coupled to the central support, wherein one or more resonator modules of the plurality of resonator modules includes an electrode having an aperture for receiving and delivering an ion beam along the beamline axis.
The accompanying drawings illustrate exemplary approaches of the disclosure, including the practical application of the principles thereof, as follows:
The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merely representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the disclosure. The drawings are intended to depict exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, and therefore are not be considered as limiting in scope. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements.
Furthermore, certain elements in some of the figures may be omitted, or illustrated not-to-scale, for illustrative clarity. The cross-sectional views may be in the form of “slices”, or “near-sighted” cross-sectional views, omitting certain background lines otherwise visible in a “true” cross-sectional view, for illustrative clarity. Furthermore, for clarity, some reference numbers may be omitted in certain drawings.
Ion implanters and linear accelerators in accordance with the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, where embodiments of the ion implanters and linear accelerators are shown. The ion implanters and linear accelerators may be embodied in many different forms and are not to be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Instead, these embodiments are provided so this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
Provided herein are approaches for an improved high-energy ion implantation system, which may also be referred to herein as an “ion implanter” for the sake of brevity. Various embodiments provide novel configurations for generating high energy ions, where the final ion energy delivered to a substrate may be 1 MeV or greater. One aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure is a novel LINAC assembly, providing various advantages over known beamline architecture.
In exemplary embodiments, a linear accelerator assembly includes a precision backbone, or central support, upon which modular sub-assemblies may be positioned. The central support provides a common datum reference for all modules, thus locking all degrees of freedom except along the beam axis. Embodiments herein permit user modification at almost any point of the system build to meet custom configuration requirements, while also maintaining system commonality and a flexible architecture.
Furthermore, the central support may provide a tolerancing structure that ensures high precision of the integrated modules. For example, the central support may include two or more datum surfaces each serving as a precision surface to define a precision axis along the beam axis. Modules may use the datum surfaces, and an offset to the merged datums, to precisely align to the beam axis.
Referring now to
The implanter 100 may further include an analyzer 110, operable to analyze the accelerated ion beam 106, for example, by changing the trajectory of the ion beam 106. The implanter 100 may also include a buncher 112 and a linear accelerator assembly 114 within a chamber 117 (e.g., vacuum chamber) of a housing 121, the linear accelerator assembly 114 disposed downstream of the DC accelerator column 108. During use, the linear accelerator assembly 114 is operable to accelerate the ion beam 106 to a third energy, greater than the second energy.
The linear accelerator assembly 114 may include a plurality of accelerator stages 126 arranged along a central support 130. Each of the plurality of accelerator stages 126 may include one or more coils 119, as will be further described herein. In some embodiments, the accelerator stages 126 of the linear accelerator assembly 114 may be double gap accelerator stages, while in other embodiments the accelerator stages 126 may be triple gap accelerator stages. In particular embodiments, the linear accelerator assembly 114 may include at least three triple gap accelerator stages. Embodiments are not limited in this context, however. In various embodiments, the implanter 100 may include additional components, such as filter magnet 116, a scanner 118, and a collimator 120, which together deliver high-energy ion beam 106 to an end station 122 for processing a substrate 124.
The linear accelerator assembly 114 may include a plurality of modules attached thereto. Although not limited to any particular type, modules of the present disclosure may include any combination of resonator modules, quadrupole focusing or steering systems, beam monitors, etc. The modules can be designed as independent units integrated to a variety of positions, thus meeting processing needs.
In the present embodiment, a plurality of quadrupole modules 134A-134N may be detachably coupled to the central support 130. Each of the quadrupole modules 134A-134N may include a quad mounting block 135 directly coupled to a surface of the central support 130. As will be described in greater detail herein, the quad mounting block 135 may wrap around or straddle the apex 131 of the central support 130. Each of the quadrupole modules 134A-134N may further include an opening 136 to receive an ion beam (not shown) traveling along the beamline axis.
The linear accelerator assembly 114 may further include a plurality of resonator modules 137A-137N detachably coupled to the central support 130. As shown, each of the resonator modules 137A-137N may include a resonator mounting block 138 directly coupled to a surface of the central support 130. The resonator mounting blocks 138 may receive one or more coils 119. In some embodiments, coil ends 140A, 140B of respective first and second coil sections 119A, 119B may include an aperture or opening 141 aligned along the beamline axis for passage of the ion beam therethrough.
As will be described in greater detail herein, the resonator mounting block 138 wraps around or straddles the apex 131 of the central support 130. As shown, the plurality of resonator modules 137A-137N may be interspersed with the plurality of quadrupole modules 134A-134N. For example, quadrupole modules 134A, 134B may be positioned between resonator modules 137A, 137B. Meanwhile, only a single quadrupole module (134C) may be positioned between resonator modules 137B and 137C. Due to the interchangeability of the modules of the linear accelerator assembly 114, a wide variety of different configurations for the plurality of resonator modules 137A-137N and the plurality of quadrupole modules 134A-134N are possible, as desired.
As shown in
As shown, the resonator mounting block 138 of each resonator module 137A-137N may include a main body 144 coupled to the central support 130. Depending on which side of the central support 130 each coil 119 extends, the main body 144 may be in direct physical contact with either a first side/surface 145 or a second side/surface 146 of the central support 130. A connector plate 147, which extends from the main body 144, may be in direct contact with an opposite of the first side 145 or the second side 146.
As shown in
In some embodiments, each quad mounting block 135 may include a first leg 148 and a second leg 149 configured to straddle the apex 131 of the central support 130. The first and second legs 148, 149 may be configured so an inner surface of the first leg 148 is in direct physical contact with the second side 146 of the central support 130 and an inner surface of the second leg 149 is in direct physical contact with the first side 145 of the central support 130.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the quad mounting block 135 may include a central cavity 156 receiving the yolk 155 and magnetic poles 151-154. As shown, the magnetic poles 151-154 may be arranged about a channel wall 157, which extends between a first end wall 158 and a second end wall 159 of the quad mounting block 135. An interior of the channel wall 157 generally defines the opening 136. As previously discussed, the quad mounting block 135 includes the first leg 148 and the second leg 149. A plane defined by an inner surface 160 of the first leg 148 may extend perpendicular to a plane defined by an inner surface 161 of the second leg 149. Although not shown, the inner surfaces 160, 161 may include one or more attachment devices to enable releasable attachment with the central support 130 (
Referring to
As shown, the resonator mounting block 138 includes the main body 144 integrally formed with the connector plate 147. In some embodiments, an inner surface 168 of the connector plate 147 may be in direct contact with the first side 145 of the central support 130, while an inner surface 169 of the main body 144 may be direct contact with the second side 146 of the central support 130. A plane defined by the inner surface 168 may extend perpendicular to a plane defined by the inner surface 169. Although not shown, the inner surfaces 168, 169 may include one or more attachment devices to enable releasable attachment with the central support 130.
Extending from the main body 144 may be a first support arm 170 and a second support arm 171. Although non-limiting, the first and second support arms 170, 171 may extend parallel to one another. The first and second support arms 170, 171 may also extend parallel to the connector plate 147 in some embodiments. As shown, an insulator plate 173 extends between the first and second support arms 170, 171. The first and second coil sections 119A, 119B may extend through openings in the insulator plate 173. The insulator plate 173 acts as a mechanical support for the coil ends 140A, 140B of respective first and second coils 119A, 119B, while also insulating the coil 119 from ground.
As further shown, the coil 119 may include a central section 174 connected with the coil ends 140A and 140B, wherein the central section 174 may include a plurality of segments or loops 175 extending helically about a central axis ‘CA.’ Although non-limiting, the central axis may generally extend perpendicular to the beamline axis. The central section 174 be made of hollow tubing with an approximately circular cross section. In some embodiments, the coil 119 is a copper tube defining an internal channel to permit a cooling fluid to flow therethrough. For example, internally flowing water within the coil 119 may help dissipate heat generated by current traveling along the conductive material of the coil 119.
Referring to
In some embodiments, each module 237A-237D is secured to the central support 230 by a resonator mounting block 238. As best shown in
The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. For example, various features of the disclosure may be grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, or configurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. However, it should be understood that various features of the certain aspects, embodiments, or configurations of the disclosure may be combined in alternate aspects, embodiments, or configurations.
As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.
The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Accordingly, the terms “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof are open-ended expressions and can be used interchangeably herein.
The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or”, as used herein, are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.
All directional references (e.g., proximal, distal, upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, lateral, longitudinal, front, back, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, radial, axial, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of this disclosure. Connection references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and joined) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a collection of elements and relative movement between elements unless otherwise indicated. As such, connection references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixed relation to each other. Furthermore, identification references (e.g., primary, secondary, first, second, third, fourth, etc.) are not intended to connote importance or priority, but are used to distinguish one feature from another.
Furthermore, the terms “substantial” or “substantially,” as well as the terms “approximate” or “approximately,” can be used interchangeably in some embodiments, and can be described using any relative measures acceptable by one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, these terms can serve as a comparison to a reference parameter, to indicate a deviation capable of providing the intended function. Although non-limiting, the deviation from the reference parameter can be, for example, in an amount of less than 1%, less than 3%, less than 5%, less than 10%, less than 15%, less than 20%, and so on.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, other various embodiments of and modifications to the present disclosure, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the present disclosure has been described herein in the context of a particular implementation in a particular environment for a particular purpose. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the usefulness is not limited thereto and the present disclosure may be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes. Thus, the claims set forth below are to be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of the present disclosure as described herein.
