Abstract. A broad-beam low-energy ion source with a 2.5 cm nominal beam diameter intended for research and technology applications was performed. The operation of the source is based on electron impact ionization in low-pressure gas discharge. Discharge and beam characteristics of the source were studied in different operating conditions. Two types extraction acceleration systems with different design were examined. For argon ions, at ion energies near 1 keV, ion beam densities up to 0.5 mA/cm² were achieved. The spatial unifonnity index of the beam was evaluated to be about 0.5. The ion source was designed as an UHV-compatible autonomic unit.

Full-text: PDF