Physics and modeling of an end-Hall (gridless) ion source

Abstract

In an end-Hall source, an ion beam is extracted from a magnetized plasma and accelerated by the plasma electric field without grids. The principle of end-Hall sources is similar to that of Hall effect thrusters (or closed-drift thrusters), but their design is optimized for processing applications (ion beam assisted deposition or substrate cleaning) rather than propulsion. The beam divergence is larger in end-Hall ion sources, and these sources can operate at low ion energies. Although end-Hall sources are commonly used in the surface processing industry, no detailed modeling of these sources is available, and their operation is quite empirical. In this paper, a self-consistent, two-dimensional, quasineutral model of an end-Hall ion source is developed and used in order to improve the understanding of the basic physics of these plasma sources and to quantify the parameters controlling the properties of the extracted ion beam.