Patent ID: 6135128
Filing Date: 2000-10-24
Classification: H01J

Abstract:
A method of in-process cleaning of an ion source (12) in an ion implanter (10) is provided, comprising the steps of:positioning a substrate on a support (40);introducing into a plasma chamber (22) of the ion source (12) an ionizable dopant gas (66);introducing into said plasma chamber (22) a cleaning gas (182);simultaneously exciting said ionizable dopant gas and said cleaning gas within said chamber to create a plasma comprised of disassociated and ionized constituents of said dopant gas and disassociated and ionized constituents of said cleaning gas; and(i) reacting said disassociated and ionized constituents of said cleaning gas with said disassociated and ionized constituents of said dopant gas to prevent formation of deposits of elements contained within said ionizable dopant gas on interior walls (112, 114, 116) of said chamber, while simultaneously (ii) extracting an ion beam (44) from the plasma chamber (22) for implantation into the substrate.