Development of inert gas ion beams for fabrication of nano-structures

该项目将开发一种高亮度、高密度的离子束，用于反应制造尺寸在100纳米及以下的结构。目前的系统使用液态金属离子源，这可能会污染正在制造的基板。惰性气体离子的使用将克服这一问题，并导致一种新型的离子源来取代旧的系统。额外的优点包括显著延长了寿命，更高的重复性。我们的商业合作伙伴FEI公司估计世界市场价值为1亿美元，并将在这项技术完全开发后在全球范围内积极推广。

This project will develop a high brightness, high density ion beam for reactive fabrication of structures with dimensions of the order of and less than 100 nano-metres. Present systems use liquid metal ion sources which can pollute the substrates being fabricated. Use of inert gas ions will overcome this problem and lead to a new type of ion source to replace the older systems. Added advantages include significantly increased lifetime much higher reproducibility. Our commercial collaborator, FEI Company, estimate the world market as being $US100,000,000 and will actively promote this technology worldwide when it is fully developed.