Abstract: The present invention provides a rotating shaft that can extend between two regions having different ambient pressures. The rotating shaft can include a rotatable hollow outer shell that is coupled to a proximal portion of an inner shaft with a limited number of contact points. A plurality of thermal breaks disposed between the inner shaft and the hollow outer shell impede heat transfer between these two components. A rotary seal coupled to the distal portion of the inner shaft preserves the pressure differential between the two regions. Further, a heat sink removes heat transferred to the seal to ensure that the temperature of the seal remains within a range suitable for its operation. The rotating shaft of the invention can be utilized, for example, in an ion implantation system by the coupling of the outer shell to a wafer holder to position and orient a wafer in a path of an ion beam.

Abstract: The present invention provides a beam stop for use in an ion implantation system that includes a base formed of a thermally conductive material, and a heat transfer layer formed of a semi-elastic material that is disposed on a surface of the base. The beam stop further includes one or more tiles, each formed of a thermally conductive refractory material, that are disposed on the semi-elastic layer so as to face an ion beam in the implantation system. The heat transfer layer transfers heat generated in the tile in response to ion beam impact to the base. The base in turn can be coupled to a heat sink to remove heat from the base. The thickness and the thermal conductivity of the base, and those of the heat transfer layer and the tile are chosen so as to ensure uniform expansion of the base and the tile when the beam stop is heated by ion beam impact.

Abstract: The present invention provides improved ion implantation systems and methods in which a high voltage probe is utilized in an ion implantation system to directly measure energy of an ion beam incident on a substrate. More particularly, an exemplary ion implantation system can include an ion source maintained at a high electric potential that generates ions, and a plurality of extraction electrodes that can accelerate the ions to a desired energy. The system further includes an end-station, maintained at ground electric potential, in which a wafer holding for positioning a wafer in the path of an ion beam is disposed. The ion implantation system is further characterized by a high energy probe disposed between a high voltage terminus of the ion source and ground for directly measuring the energy of the ions.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for creation of high quality semiconductor-on-insulator structures, e.g., silicon-on-insulator structures, using implantation of sub-stoichiometric doses of oxygen at multiple energies. The method employs sequential steps of ion implantation and high temperature annealing to produce structures with a top silicon layer having a thickness ranging from 10-250 nm and a buried oxide layer having a thickness 30-300 nm. The buried oxide layer has a breakdown field greater than 5 MV/cm. Further, the density of silicon inclusions in the BOX region is less than 2×107 cm−2. The process of the invention can be used to create an entire SOI wafer, or be used to create patterned SOI, regions where SOI regions are integrated with non-SOI regions.