Performance optimization of a microwave-coupled plasma-based ultralow-energy ECR ion source for silicon nanostructuring

• Joy Mukherjee,
• Safiul Alam Mollick,
• Tanmoy Basu and
• Tapobrata Som

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 484–494, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.37

• the transformative impact of nanopatterning through low-energy inert ions. Keywords: optimization of ion current; surface topography; TEM; ultralow-energy ECR-based ion source; UV–vis spectroscopy; Introduction Ion sources serve as fundamental components in numerous scientific and industrial

• potential and is particularly effective for operations involving very-low-energy ions. This grid enables ions to decelerate and traverse a field-free region near the source, ensuring minimal perturbations to the ion beam and facilitating precise ion transport. Results and Discussion Optimization of ion

• current through various plasma parameters The variation of beam current with gas pressure and magnetron power for different ion energies are investigated and presented in Figure 3. Figure 3a–c demonstrates that the beam current decays almost exponentially with the increase in gas pressure. The ion current