TES | Electron source / Neutralizer

Jan 31, 2020 | Products

photo of TES Ion mill on CF40 (vacuum side visible)

Our TES Electron Source is mainly developed as a neutralizer for ion beam processing, particularly suited for reactive gas environments. It delivers electron beams with a current up to 75mA with an energy up to 500eV. It can be mounted directly onto a CF40 or KF40 flange, but also remotely through flexible cables to allow for source movement under vacuum. For other surface processing applications, please look at our other TES and HEXAR sources and our IE-gun. Don’t hesitate to contact us with your specific need. Our custom beam solutions page gives several examples of the possibilities.

Source concept

The core element of TES is a patented microwave discharge system (ECR-plasma) that operates at ultralow power and is as small as a thumb. You can find more about the technology here. The extraction system connected to the cavity determines the nature of the particles that leave the source. The current can be varied over a wide range by tuning the gas flow rate, the applied microwave power, and the strength of the extraction field, independently from the beam energy. Through closed loop regulation of the UHF power the beam current can be made extremely stable.

Neutralization

Ion beam sputtering of insulating materials can cause undesirable charging effects. An electron source can compensate these charges. Polygon Physics offers an ECR-plasma based neutralizer which has the same core element TES sources have. This type of neutralizer is inherently stable, and has a long lifetime due to the absence of any consumables such as filaments. Contact us if this could be of interest to you.

Screenshot of the user interface of the ion source control system for TES

Main features

Plug & play (no microwave tuning)
filamentless
no cooling
noble and reactive gases
variable spotsize (from sub-mm to cms)
UHV-compatible
automated source operation
closed loop current regulation

Source coupling to the flange: rigid or flexible

Sources from the TES family can be either directly mounted onto a flange with rigid coupling, but can also be coupled to the flange through flexible connectors only, allowing you to position the source inside your system wherever you want.

Technical data

TES Neutralizer can be mounted directly on a KF or CF 40 flange, or indirectly, via flexible cables only. The UHF power required for operation is at most 5W, for a maximum beam current of up to 75mA. The gas flow (typically 1 sccm) can be regulated with either a mass flow controller or a leak valve. The source module is delivered with a compact controller that can be plugged directly onto the source flange. The controller can be connected to a pc through a USB cable. Not included are the source gas and pc. TES can be customized to match your specific application. Contact us for the possibilities and/or check our page on custom beam solutions.

Schematic diagram of TES-Ion mill, with dimensions

Software

The source comes with a user-friendly control & monitoring interface, that allows you to control the beam, record data, and run stored recipes. Labview drivers are available to integrate our software with other systems.

La conception de TES est cofinancée par l’Union européenne. L’Europe s’engage en Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes avec le Fonds européen de développement régional.