A technological ion source with hollow cathode in magnetic field

An ion beam source based on a hollow-cathode, glow discharge in a magnetic field capable of producing gas and carbon ion broad beams with a cross-sectional area of up to 200 cm² has been developed. The source comes in two modifications, the first one generating continuous beams of low-energy ions with a current of up to 150 mA is used for ion - assisted deposition of coatings. The other one generating ion beams in a pulse - repetitive mode with a current of up to 1 A, ion energy of up to 40 keV, pulse duration of 1 – 2 ms and a pulse - repetition rate of 3 – 50 Hz is used for ion implantation in metals and polymers. The source features a straight forward design and power supply, high reliability and long lifetime, this being due to the use of cold-cathode discharge needing no initiating system.