Abstract
A new type of broad-beam ion optics has been developed. It avoids misalignment of the electrode grids and can be installed without any adjustment procedure. The compact ion optics is a two-electrode system that is aligned by the fabrication process. A ceramic carrier is used as a base plate. The electrodes are deposited as films on both sides of the carrier. This fabrication process ensures that the position of the grids is fixed to each other for the entire life of the ion optics. By this procedure the geometrical factors influencing the beam properties remain constant. The extraction optics were tested in a broad-beam RF-ion source designed for reactive gas operation. The values for the ion currents obtained are comparable to values from conventional multi-aperture ion optics. Ion current densities in the range of 1 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> could be measured. Also beam divergence has been measured and values are similar to those from conventional ion optics. © 1992 IEEE