ION SOURCE, SYSTEM AND METHOD

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve an ion beam with a spot size of 10 nm or less on a sample surface in an ion microscope using a gas field ion source.

SOLUTION: A material and shape of a conductive electrode tip 186 of an ion source is optimized so that an atomic layer of a trimer is formed on a tip surface, and the ion source is operated in ultralow temperature conditions. Thereby, ionization efficiency with vaporized helium is improved. A spot of 10 nm or less on a sample 180 can be achieved by selecting a movement mechanism 208 for the electrode tip and a diameter 224 of an aperture opening to control a beam diameter and current amount.

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