Abstract: Surface treatment is applied to a substrate by supplying thereto excited molecules in which the vibrational energy level is excited. SF.sub.6, O.sub.2, N.sub.2, etc., are used as the excited molecules and supplied to the substrate as beams. This method is particularly suitable for the surface treatment in the production of semiconductor devices.

Abstract: A surface treatment apparatus comprising a vacuum chamber, means for introducing a gas into the vacuum chamber, a gas furnace for heating and activating the gas while it is being introduced, apertures for injecting the heated gas, and a substrate stage for holding a substrate of which the surface is to be treated by the injected gas. The gas that is heated and activated is blown onto the surface of the substrate to treat the surface without causing the surface to be damaged. Therefore, the apparatus can be employed very effectively for a process for producing semiconductor elements.

Abstract: A plasma confinement system comprising a toroidal vacuum chamber, a toroidal coil which generates a magnetic field in a toroidal direction within the vacuum chamber, current transformer coils which are wound in the toroidal direction, equilibrium magnetic field coils which are wound in the toroidal direction in order to control a plasma, alternating current coils which are wound mainly in the toroidal direction and through which alternating currents are caused to flow for enabling forming and rotating of a deformed magnetic surface and for causing rotation of the plasma in a poloidal direction, and power sources which cause currents to flow through the various coils.

Abstract: A charged particle accelerator is provided with quadrupole electrodes with surfaces that are opposed to each other and are undulated, and with an external resonance circuit. The external resonance circuit consists of a capacitor formed by the opposing electrodes, a variable capacitor provided in parallel with said capacitor, and a coil. The resonance frequency is variable. A direct current and an alternating current may be applied in a superposed manner to the quadrupole electrodes. The thus constructed accelerator can be employed for an ion implanter to implant a heavy-current ion beam of several hundred KeV to several MeV.

Abstract: An atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer which comprises an ion source for ionizing a sample gas, a low pressure region provided with a mass filter and a collector therein, a differential pumping region provided between the ion source and the low pressure region and with electrodes provided on the side of the ion source and on the side of the low pressure region, respectively, and a pressure-gradient electrode means for dissociation and removal of cluster ions, as connected to the electrode on the side of the ion source among the electrodes provided in the differential pumping region is disclosed.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring metabolites contained in human expired air and for measuring metabolites contained in human urine and for extracting a correlation between the metabolite data in the expired air and the metabolite data in the urine is suitable for parallel analysis of the metabolites in human urine and expired air. An atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer is suitable for measuring metabolites in the expired air. By storing reference data showing the relation between the metabolites in the expired air and those in the urine and, by comparing such data with a subject's metabolite data in the expired air and the metabolite data in the urine, abnormality of a subject can be detected.

Abstract: An ion source equipped with an ion beam exit slit for extracting ions from plasma generated in feed gas introduced into a discharge chamber, and with gas inlet or inlets for introducing the feed gas into the discharge chamber in close proximity of the ion beam exit slit. Ion extraction can be made stably without any deposit on the ion beam exit slit even when a boron halide is used as the feed gas. The effect of the ion source can be further enhanced by adding oxygen, hydrogen or gas of an oxygen-containing compound to the feed gas, and by using a microwave.

Abstract: In order to implant ions uniformly in a plurality of wafers, carriers, on which a plurality of wafers are mounted, are moved along a straight line one after another. An ion implanter comprises a beam sweep width controller for controlling the beam sweep width in such a manner that the area scanned with the ion beam by sweeping it coincides approximately with the shape of the wafers in which ions are to be implanted and a carrier speed controller for controlling the carrier speed, depending on the beam sweep width so that the dose of ions implanted in the wafers is uniform. The beam sweep width controller includes a detector for detecting the width of a wafer in which ions are being implanted in the one direction and a controller for varying the beam sweep width, depending on the width of the wafer thus detected. The carrier speed controller varies the carrier speed inversely proportionally to the width of the wafer thus detected.

Abstract: A plasma ion source includes a discharge chamber in which a plasma is produced by plasma generator, with an acceleration electrode being disposed adjacent to the discharge chamber in order to extract ions from the produced plasma. A deceleration electrode is disposed adjacent to the acceleration electrode to decelerate the extracted ions, and a ground electrode is disposed adjacent to the deceleration electrode. An insulator container is disposed so as to surround the discharge chamber and the respective electrodes, and a shield ring electrode of ground potential is disposed in the vicinity of the deceleration electrode and along an inner wall surface of the insulator container in order to prevent any discharge from arising across the deceleration electrode and the ground electrode.

Abstract: A gas is introduced into a vacuum chamber after the vacuum chamber is evacuated, and a plasma is generated within at least part of the vacuum chamber. The specimen surface is exposed to the plasma so that the surface is treated. A plurality of different gases, such as SF.sub.6, N.sub.2, and the like, are used as the gas being introduced. The quantity of the gas is changed during the surface treatment. A controller is used as a mechanism for changing the quantity of gas introduced. The controller is operated in accordance with a predetermined program, or by signals obtained by detecting the surface conditions of the specimen during the surface treatment.

Abstract: In a microwave plasma source, a discharge space supplied with a microwave electric field is supplied with a DC magnetic field. A material to be ionized is introduced into the discharge space to produce plasma, whereby ions are extracted through an ion extracting system. A switch is provided for effecting through switching operation the change-over of the magnetic field applied to the discharge space from the intensity for the ignition of plasma to the intensity for ion extraction in succession to completion of the plasma ignition.

Abstract: The microwave plasma source of this invention comprises a vacuum room which forms a discharging space with discharge gas introduced therein, a means for conducting the microwave to the discharging space so that the microwave electric field is provided in the discharging space, and a means for providing the magnetic field in the discharging space located on the microwave propagating path and made up of a permanent magnet which virtually propagates the microwave.

Abstract: An atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer which comprises an ion source for ionizing a sample gas, a low pressure region provided with a mass filter and a collector therein, a differential pumping region provided between the ion source and the low pressure region and with electrodes provided on the side of the ion source and on the side of the low pressure region, respectively, and a pressure-gradient electrode means for dissociation and removal of cluster ions, as connected to the electrode on the side of the ion source among the electrodes provided in the differential pumping region is disclosed.