Micro fabrication by low energy ion beam from plasma based ion sources

An inductively coupled plasma ion source based micro machining system is being developed. The system parameters, in which mainly the source parameters like brightness, ion energy spread and source size, are optimized for increasing the efficiency of the system. Preliminary tests show 6 KeV Argon ion beam focused to 1.4 micron size with current density 600 mA/cm². Possibilities of micro fabrication on silicon and copper target are explored. The paper describes inductively coupled plasma ion source based micro machining system, the preliminary results and challenges and benefits of using plasma generated ions for micro fabrication techniques.