Patent ID: 7488958

Claim:
An ion source chamber for an ion implantation system, the ion source chamber comprising: a housing having one or more sidewalls; an extraction plate associated with the housing, wherein the one or more sidewalls and the extraction plate generally enclose an interior region of the ion source chamber; one or more inlets associated with the housing, wherein the one or more inlets provide a fluid communication between one or more ionizable material sources and the interior region of the ion source chamber; an extraction aperture associated with the extraction plate, wherein the extraction aperture provides a fluid communication between the interior region of the ion source chamber and a beam path region external to the ion source chamber; and one or more diffusion apertures defined in the one or more sidewalls of the housing, wherein the one or more diffusion apertures provide a fluid communication between the interior region of the ion source chamber and a diffusion region external to the ion source chamber.