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We have developed a repetitively pulsed cathodic arc plasma source that can operate at high duty cycle and with long lifetime between downtimes for cathode maintenance. The arc discharge current can be up to 300 A, the arc pulse width can be varied from 0.1 to 4 ms, and the source can operate at a duty cycle of up to 30% for many hours. The cathode can be of a diameter from 20 to 40 mm, and can be easily and quickly changed. A 45° magnetic duct is used for macroparticle filtering, employing a pulsed magnetic field. We have operated the source over a wide parameter range, and we report here on the variation of plasma ion deposition current with arc current, duct magnetic field, and duct bias voltage. A momentary ion deposition current of 0.7 A was obtained with the source running stably for more than 8 h with an arc current of 100 A and duty cycle of 20%.

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is an excellent surface modification technique because it is not restricted by the line-of-sight limitation that plagues conventional beamline ion implantation. However, the lack of in situ monitoring has hampered wider acceptance of the technique in industry. It is known that the implantation temperature has a large influence on the surface properties of the treated specimens in addition to the more obvious parameters such as implantation voltage, pulse duration, pulsing frequency, and so on. Direct measurement of the target temperature is complicated by the sample high voltage as well as by interference from the electromagnetic field and plasma. In this article, we present a novel interference-free, in situ temperature measurement technique employing a shielded thermocouple directly attached to the sample stage. Our experiments show that the setup can monitor the target temperature in real time, even under severe arcing conditions. Our results also indicate that ...

Plasma immersion ion implantation is a burgeoning surface modification technique and not limited by the line-of-sight restriction plaguing conventional beam-line ion implantation. It is therefore an excellent technique to treat interior surfaces as well as components of a complex shape. To enhance the implant uniformity and increase the thickness of the modified layer, we are using a high frequency, low-voltage process to achieve high temperature and dose rate to increase the thickness of the modified layer. The low voltage conditions also lead to a thinner sheath more favorable to conformal implantation. In this article, we will describe our special modulator consisting of a single ended forward converter with a step-up transformer. The modulator is designed to operate from 5 to 35 kHz and the output voltage is adjustable to an upper ceiling of 5000 V that is deliberately chosen to be our voltage limit for the present experiments. We will also present experimental data on SS304 stainless steel materials elucidating the advantages of our modulator and high frequency, low-voltage experimental protocols.

The high voltage and electromagnetic field environment poses a big challenge to a control system for plasma immersion ion implantation(PIII). The automation process must be immune to electric field interference produced by the high voltage power supply, modulator, radio-frequency or microwaveplasma generator, MEVVA plasma sources, and so on. We have recently designed and installed a distributed control system, PIIIDCS, to automate the operation of our PIII facility. Programmable logic controllers are used as the field control stations because of their good anti-interference ability and good real time response. A DH-485 network is used as the communication link between the field controllers and the management station in order to improve the robustness and reliability of the system. The newly developed interface is designed to work in a graphic mode in Microsoft Windows 95. Test runs have shown that the system is reliable, flexible, and easy to operate. The development of this novel control system will expedite the development of commercial PIII instrumentation.

A new generation multipurpose plasma immersion ion implanter (PIII) was custom designed, constructed, and installed in the City University of Hong Kong. The system is designed for general R&D applications in metallurgy, tribology, surface modification, and fabrication of novel materials. Using the new rf ion source in conjunction with the internal antenna system, the plasma density achieves excellent uniformity both laterally and axially. The system also incorporates two metal sources, including four metal arc sources and a sputtering electrode, so that multiple metal deposition and implantation steps can be performed in succession in the same equipment without exposing the samples to air. This capability can be critical to the study of surface properties and corrosion resistance. This article describes the design objectives, the novel features, and the characteristics of this new generation PIII equipment.

High energy implantation of metal ions can be carried out using conventional ion implantation with a mass-selected ion beam in scanned-spot mode by employing a broad-beam approach such as with a vacuum arc ion source, or by utilizing plasma immersion ion implantation with a metal plasma. For many high dose applications, the use of plasma immersion techniques offers a high-rate process, but the formation of a surface film along with the subsurface implanted layer is sometimes a severe or even fatal detriment. We describe here an operating mode of the metal plasma immersion approach by which pure implantation can be obtained. We have demonstrated the technique by carrying out Ti and Ta implantations at energies of about 80 and 120 keV for Ti and Ta, respectively, and doses on the order of 1×1017 ions/cm2. Our experiments show that virtually pure implantation without simultaneous surface deposition can be accomplished. Using proper synchronization of the metal arc and sample voltage pulse, the applied dose t...

The fourth-generation plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID) facility for hybrid and batch treatment was built in our laboratory recently. Comparing with our previous PIIID facilities, several novel designs are utilized. Two multicathode pulsed cathodic arc plasma sources are fixed on the chamber wall symmetrically, which can increase the steady working time from 6 h (the single cathode source in our previous facilities) to about 18 h. Meanwhile, the inner diameter of the pulsed cathodic arc plasma source is increased from the previous 80 to 209 mm, thus, large area metal plasma can be obtained by the source. Instead of the simple sample holder in our previous facility, a complex revolution-rotation sample holder composed of 24 shafts, which can rotate around its axis and adjust its position through revolving around the center axis of the vacuum chamber, is fixed in the center of the vacuum chamber. In addition, one magnetron sputtering source is set on the chamber wall instead of the top cover in the previous facility. Because of the above characteristic, the PIIID hybrid process involving ion implantation, vacuum arc, and magnetron sputtering deposition can be acquired without breaking vacuum. In addition, the PIIID batch treatment of cylinderlike components can be finished by installing these components on the rotating shafts on the sample holder.

A third generation plasma immersion ion implanter dedicated to biomedical materials and research has been designed and constructed. The distinct improvement over first and second generation multipurpose plasma immersion ion implantation equipment is that hybrid and combination techniques utilizing metal and gas plasmas, sputter deposition, and ion beam enhanced deposition can be effectively conducted in the same machine. The machine consists of four sets of high-efficiency metal arc plasma sources with magnetic filters, a custom designed high voltage modulator for operation up to 60 kV, a separate high-frequency, low-voltage power supply for hybrid treatment processes, special rotating sample stage for samples with an irregular shape, and other advanced features. The machine has been installed at Southwest Jiaotong University and operated reliably for 6 months. This article describes the design principles and performances of the machine as well as pertinent biomedical applications.

Metal vacuum arc plasma sources enhance the capability of plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) by providing a convenient and efficient means by which to introduce metallic ions into the plasma for metallic ion implantation and/or thin film deposition. The power supply of a metal vacuum arc plasma source is usually based on the artificial transformation line design, but it has several drawbacks. For instance, the pulse width cannot be adjusted conveniently and the pulsing frequency cannot exceed a predefined value. These restrictions make process optimization and synchronization with the sample high voltage modulator complicated in pulsed-mode PIII operation. In this work, we experimentally investigate the voltage–current characteristics of our metal vacuum arc plasma source. Our results suggest two different power supply designs. By adopting the design incorporating a gradual voltage–current decline, we successfully construct a simple and reliable power supply that works in a stable manner for a prolo...