Extending Ion Source Life on High Current Ion Implant Tools with In-Situ Chemical Cleaning

Ion source replacement is generally the most frequent maintenance activity on an ion implanter impacting both productivity and consumable costs. In this paper we review the different mechanisms responsible for ion source failure. We report on in‐situ chemical cleaning tests conducted at Toshiba Oita, which have shown potential for significant extension in source life. Several factors impact the effectiveness of xenon difluoride including failure modes, cleaning time and flow rates.