Plansee develops improved replacement parts from refractory metals, graphite, and ceramic for ion implanters from all major manufacturers. The latest development is a high performance extraction assembly for VIISta HCP, HCS, Trident, and NexGen configured systems.

Residual gas in the original extraction assembly from Varian reduces breakdown voltage across electrodes and results in high glitch rates for VIISta HCP, HCS, Trident, and NexGen configured systems. In turn, high glitching can destabilize ion beams potentially decreasing throughput and yield. Such instabilities also accelerate electrode wear resulting in more frequent maintenance and component replacement.

Costs resulting from the need to replace extraction assemblies and parts, including the associated downtimes, are considerable and prompted Plansee to produce a completely reworked extraction assembly.

Plansee’s Ideal Extraction has been shown to reduce glitching by more than an order of magnitude and, with routine cleaning, service life has averaged 3-4 times longer than that of the original assembly.

At the heart of the new design lies gas-permeable tungsten foil. The foil facilitates pumping between and behind the electrodes and thereby reduces residual gas pressure in the extraction assembly.  Consequently, the reduction in pressure increases breakdown voltage and yields a dramatically lower glitch rate.

However glitching is not the only issue: Time-consuming replacement of the original extraction assembly is both costly – in terms of downtime – and difficult. The original extraction assembly weighs approximately 8.2 kg and often takes the combined effort of two people to safely remove it from the tool. Plansee engineers have therefore replaced steel, molybdenum, tungsten, and aluminum mounting components with high-quality graphite, transforming the assembly into a 3-kg lightweight champion with increased thermal stability. As an added bonus, potentially damaging contamination by iron is a thing of the past.

To speed assembly and reduce the cost of replacement parts, electrodes in the Ideal Extraction have been designed to self-align, to allow installation in either slot position, and to be rotatable to offset potentially uneven wear. With this solution, the Plansee team has managed to substantially improve assembly and increase service life of the electrodes. No alignment tools required!

Mike Reilly is responsible for product development of components for the semiconductor industry at Plansee and sums up the advantages of Plansee’s Ideal Extraction: “Our advanced standard Ideal Extraction improves pumping in the electrode gaps and thereby limits discharges, reduces coating, and improves service life. Our engineers took a fresh look at the entire assembly and were able to reduce complexity while improving assembly and alignment – hallmarks of good design.  The final embodiments share components and concepts across the entire VIISta high current platform simplifying maintenance and supply chain challenges.”

The Ideal Extraction is available from Plansee as a complete, bolt-on, solution for VIISta HCP, VIISta HCS, Trident, and NexGen configured systems.

PLANSEE’s Advanced Standard designs are made from high-performance metals, graphite, and ceramics and are available for most commercial ion implantation tools worldwide. PLANSEE’s most recent development is an extended life ion source for the Exceed IHC 9600 implantation system from Nissin. This source has been successfully qualified by a major IDM in a high volume manufacturing environment.

Arc shorting and instability caused by flawed designs and inconsistent source rebuild are the most frequent reasons for premature replacement of the OEM-designed ion source. Although the standard source filament could have an expected service life of up to 400 hours, the ion source will need to be replaced, on average, after just 300 hours due to such flaws and inconsistencies.

Arc shorting can be caused by deposition of conductive material on the components surrounding the arc chamber. These deposits are created when dopant gas/vapor and etched or sputtered component materials escape from the arc chamber and condense on surrounding components. A direct arc short or instability occurs whenever a conductive bridge builds across an insulator. Even momentary instabilities within the system can disrupt the implant process until the source is ultimately replaced.

This issue inspired the PLANSEE ion implantation design team to develop the new Exceed IHC 9600 source. In it, the PLANSEE team has shielded and re-designed the insulation components of the arc chamber to match the expected service life of the filament. These improvements protect insulators and components from conductive deposits resulting in longer and more predictable source life and greater uptime of valuable equipment.

Refurbishment simplified

Complicated rebuild procedures also present challenges for engineers and technicians. The standard OEM-designed source has over 115 individual components; reassembly is a time-consuming and error-prone procedure. The PLANSEE Advanced Standard ion source has 33% fewer components making source reassembly easier and more reliable.  Mike Reilly, PLANSEE’s Head of Product Development for semiconductor solutions, noted: “The impact of a stable arc and reliable rebuild on beam current and uniformity is considerable particularly when users are working at the limits of their equipment. In this case, PLANSEE staff were able to optimize source reliability for the Exceed IHC 9600 ion implanter without sacrificing any performance."

The new 9600 source design was proven in the first quarter of 2013 and is now running in high volume manufacturing at a top-tier IDM in Asia, replacing the OEM design. Stephen Kampa, PLANSEE’s Sales and Marketing Manager for Asia, added: "The service life of the Advanced Standard source has risen on average from 300 to 400 operating hours. The measures we have taken have an immediate pay off for our customers, because the ion source is the most cost-intensive component of an ion implantation system.  The quick adoption of our design in the marketplace further demonstrates the value that the PLANSEE team can provide to our global customer base."

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PLANSEE High Performance Materials

PLANSEE High Performance Materials is an expert in the field of molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, niobium and chromium components. Alloys and composite materials from PLANSEE come into their own in electronics, coating technology or high-temperature furnaces – wherever traditional materials are stretched beyond their limits.

PLANSEE manufactures thousands of different replacement parts from tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, graphite and ceramics for ion implantation and other semiconductor applications, operating two centers of excellence in the United States and Japan. PLANSEE manufactures products precisely according to the OEM standards of all major manufacturers worldwide, with a primary focus on the design of improved and enhanced performance systems. Marketed under the "PLANSEE Advanced Standard" brand, upgrade solutions from PLANSEE are known throughout the semiconductor industry for their extended service life, simplified handling, lower maintenance expenditure, and reduced costs.

PLANSEE’s global sales force and international team of product engineers and designers are available for on-site consultation, to provide solutions for your ion implantation needs. Discover more about PLANSEE and find your local contact representative: www.plansee.com