| AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Advanced Ion Microscopy Focus Topic | Thursday Sessions |
| Session HI-ThA |
| Session: | Emerging Ion Sources, Optics, and Applications |
| Presenter: | Shinichi Matsubara, Hitachi, Japan |
| Authors: | S. Matsubara, Hitachi, Japan H. Shichi, Hitachi, Japan T. Hashizume, Hitachi, Japan |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Practical use of a gas field ionization ion source (GFIS) has been tried for decades, but it was known difficult to realize. The GFIS has an extremely high brightness and a small source size, so that the convergence performance is excellent. As the atomic structure formation technology of the emitter tip has matured, the He - GFIS has been used in the real world scanning ion microscopes (SIMs). At first, their application was focused on the observation of the surface of samples because of its surface sensitivity, long focal depth, and a high resolution. Recently, however, Ne - GFIS has also been used for applications on fine direct fabrication which was difficult with a gallium liquid metal ion source.
We are developing GFISs which emit various kinds of ions and their own characteristics has been investigated. We are also developing ion- switching techniques which enable quick switching between fabrications and observations. With these techniques, we expect to create innovative applications difficult to realize with other technologies. In the previous studies we showed that an H3+ ion is superior for observation with a low damage. Its energy dispersion is comparable with a He+ ion (0.5 eV) but the sputtering rate is expected to be smaller. We also showed that the H3+ and Ne+ ions can be switched within 1 s by using a mixed gas of H2 and Ne, and by changing the emitter voltage. With this technique, we can instantly switch between fabrication and observation. Regarding the Ar-GFIS which is promising for fine fabrication, we showed that the effective fabrication rate given by the product of the current and the sputtering rate is highest among the Ne, Ar and Kr. Furthermore, we have put into practical use of a photomask repairing technology using N2 - GFIS.