Patent ID: 6958481

Claim:
An ion source ( 50 ) comprising: (i) a vaporizer ( 51 ) having a cavity ( 66 ) for receiving a source material ( 68 ) to be vaporized and for vaporizing the source material; (ii) an ionizer ( 53 ) located remotely from said vaporizer ( 51 ), said ionizer comprising a body ( 96 ) having an inlet ( 119 ) for receiving the vaporized source material; an ionization chamber ( 108 ) in which the vaporized source material may be ionized by an energy-emitting element to create a plasma; an exit aperture ( 126 ) for extracting an ion beam comprised of said plasma; and a cooling mechanism ( 100 , 104 ) for lowering the temperature of walls ( 128 ) of said ionization chamber ( 108 ) during the ionization of said vaporized material; (iii) a feed tube ( 62 ) for connecting said vaporizer ( 51 ) to said ionization chamber ( 108 ); and (iv) a heating medium ( 70 ) for heating at least a portion of said vaporizer ( 51 ) and said feed tube ( 62 ).