IMPROVED ION SOURCE WITH MULTI-CUSPED MAGNETIC FIELDS AND A PLASMA ELECTRODE FOR USE IN THE ION SOURCE

摘要

An ion source 26 including a plasma confinement chamber 49 and a plasma electrode 70 forming a generally planar wall section 52 of the plasma confinement chamber 49. The plasma electrode 70 has at least one opening 84 for allowing an ion beam 88 to exit the confinement chamber 49 and has a set of magnets 78, 80 that generate a magnetic field 94 extending across the openings in the plasma electrode. The openings in the plasma electrode 70 can be fashioned as elongated slots or circular openings aligned along an axis. The ion source 26 can further include a power supply 72 for negatively biasing the plasma electrode 70 relative to the plasma confinement chamber 49 and an insulator 74 for electrically insulating the plasma electrode. Cooling tubes 122 can also be provided to transfer heat away from the magnets in the plasma electrode 70. IMAGE