Using the Ionic Liquid Ion Sources for Focused Ion Beam applications: Investigating the fundamentals

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Gallium Liquid Metal Ion Sources (LMIS) are the standard choice for ion beam material etching, facilitating ion beam lithography as the go-to technique for in situ microfabrication. Many microfabrication applications would benefit from a more flexible ion beam source, with different ion beam species significantly influencing the physical and chemical nature of the milling results, for example reducing ion implantation or enhancing etching through using chemically reactive ions.One such option is Ionic Liquid Ion Sources (ILIS), where rather than extracting ions from a liquid metal such as gallium, ions can be extracted from an ionic liquid. Through the use of Ionic Liquids, there is a far greater choice of ion type that can be emitted, across a much larger range.Recently there have been great improvement in the operation of ILIS's through the development of their use for ion thrusters for spacecraft. Our research group at Southampton has developed an electrospray ion thruster for micro spacecraft propulsion. This project will develop this thruster for application as an ILIS for Focused Ion Beam etching of materials. The PhD will investigate the fundamentals of ion emission from an Ionic Liquid Ion Source, investigating the properties of the beam using various diagnostic techniques, and the excellent facilities at the David Fearn Electric Propulsion Laboratory. Particular emphasis will be put on gaining insight into the ion emission process, the use of novel ion liquids, and the imaging of the ion emission source.The PhD is part of a large EPSRC funded project, in collaboration with the Optoelectronics Research Centre (Dr Oleg Buchnev);https://gow.epsrc.ukri.org/NGBOViewGrant.aspx?GrantRef=EP/V04995X/1 The PhD is part sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific, one of the world leaders in the development of focused ion beam technology. The PhD student will be working closely with their primary FIB R&D team.For more information please contact Dr Charlie Ryan, Lecturer in Astronautics, University of Southampton, c.n.ryan@soton.ac.uk.