Ion Beam Machining Techniques and Apparatus

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to embodiments thereof shown, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the principal parts of an ion thinning unit rotatable within a specimen chamber, part of the wall of which is removed in the drawings to show the ion source assembly and the specimen stage with associated drive mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the ion thinning unit of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ion source assembly and specimen stage, with associated drive mechanisms, of an ion surface preparation unit.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, 2 and 4 are saddle-field ion sources which may suitably be of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,873 issued Mar. 16, 1976 and which, because of their compact structure, can readily be mounted on a rotatable arm generally designated 6. The specimen 8 is mounted on a rotatable specimen platform 10 supported on rollers 12 and driven by shaft 14 of a motor (not shown) through a gear wheel 16 which meshes with the peripheral edge 18 of the platform 10.

The ion source assembly and the specimen platform with associated drive mechanisms are mounted inside a vacuum chamber 20 which is maintained at a suitable vacuum as, for example, by a pumping system (not shown) utilising a diffusion pump which can be supplied with the apparatus or the apparatus may be supplied ready for connection to a suitable pumping system.

The centre of the rotatable specimen platform 10 is located on the axis of the pivot of the arm 6. The arm 6 is driven by a servo-motor 22 located outside the vacuum chamber 20 through a rotary shaft 24 which extends through a vacuum seal 25 in the wall 26 of the chamber. The rotatable arm 6 may be set at any angle relative to the plane of the specimen platform 10 from 0.degree. (glancing incidence) through 90.degree. (normal) to 180.degree. and may be rocked at any amplitude between these limits.

If the arm 6 supporting the source(s) is set at a fixed angle, then the angle of incidence of the beam at a point P on the surface of the rotating specimen will vary with an amplitude depending on distance of P from the centre of rotation of the specimen. At the centre of rotation there will be no change in the angle of incidence. At a point remote from the centre, the angle of incidence will be the same each time the specimen has completed one revolution. The angle of incidence of the beam at P therefore varies in a regular manner. Under these conditions ion etching frequently produces hummock shaped artifacts. It has been found that the formation of such artifacts can be prevented by randomising the angle of incidence, i.e. if after point P has completed a revolution the angle of incidence of the ion beam has changed with respect to the initial angle of incidence. This can be achieved by rocking the arm 6 while the specimen platform rotates; it is of course important that the motion of arm 6 is not synchronised with that of the rotating platform.

The ion sources 2 and 4 are preferably fine beam ion sources producing beams 28 and 30 of about 1.5 mm diameter from cathode apertures 32 which beams pass through the centre of the rotatable specimen platform 10 on which the specimen is situated. Electrical powder and gas for operation of the ion beam sources are supplied to the ion beam sources via leads 34 and conduits 36 respectively which are led into the vacuum chamber 20 through ports (not shown) in the wall 26 thereof.

During the thinning process material is controllably removed from either side of the specimen by exposure to the ion beams from the two diametrically opposed ion sources.

The specimen is illuminated and may be observed during processing through a binocular microscope 38 mounted above the vacuum chamber.

An example of an ion surface preparation unit is shown in FIG. 3 in which 40 is a wide beam saddle-field ion source emitting a beam 42 about 1 cm long from cathode aperture 44. The beam 42 diverges normal to the length of the aperture 44 at an angle of about 15.degree., there being little divergence along the cathode aperture. The ion source 40 is mounted on one end of the rotatable arm 46 and a counterbalance 48 is mounted on the opposite end of the arm. A specimen 50 is mounted on a rotatable specimen platform 52 having a toothed periphery 54 and which is driven by shaft 46 of a motor (not shown) through a gear 48 which meshes with the toothed periphery 54 of the platform in the same manner as in the ion thinning unit described hereinbefore with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The arm 46 is also driven in the same manner as in the previously described embodiments by means of a suitable servo-motor (not shown) through a shaft 60. The surface of the specimen does not coincide with the axis of the pivot of the rotatable arm, so that when the arm 46 rocks, the intense central region of the beam travels over the surface of the specimen thus ensuring an even rate of etching.

Although in the illustrated embodiments of the invention described in detail in the foregoing involve rotating the specimen about a perpendicular axis while rocking the ion source(s), it will be appreciated that the ion source(s) could remain stationary and the specimen could be rotated and rocked; or the ion source(s) could be rotated about the specimen and the specimen rocked; or the specimen could remain stationary while the ion source(s) could be rocked, while rotating about an axis through the centre of the specimen and normal to it, or both the ion source(s) and the specimen could be rotated, or the ion source(s) could be either rocked or rotated while rocking and rotating the specimen; or the ion source(s) could be rocked and rotated while rocking the specimen.

In all cases the effect is to vary the angle of incidence of the ion beam or beams on the specimen in order to randomise the angle of incidence of each ion beam on the specimen.