SURVEY OF HIGH-VOLTAGE PULSE TECHNOLOGY SUITABLE FOR LARGE-SCALE PLASMA SOURCE ION-IMPLANTATION PROCESSES

Many new plasma processes ideas are finding their way from the researc h lab to the manufacturing plant floor. These require high voltage (HV ) pulse power equipment, which must be optimized for application, syst em efficiency, and reliability. Although no single HV pulse technology is suitable for all plasma processes, various classes of high voltage pulsers may offer a greater versatility and economy to the manufactur er. Technology developed for existing radar and particle accelerator m odulator power systems can be utilized to develop a modem large scale plasma source ion implantation (PSII) system. The HV pulse networks ca n be broadly defined by two classes of systems, those that generate th e voltage directly, and those that use some type of pulse forming netw ork and step-up transformer. This article will examine these HV pulse technologies and discuss their applicability to the specific PSII proc ess. Typical systems that will be reviewed will include high power sol id state, hard tube systems such as crossed-field ''hollow beam'' swit ch tubes and planar tetrodes, and ''soft'' tube systems with crossatro ns and thyratrons. Results will be tabulated and suggestions provided for a particular PSII process.