Liquid Metal Ion Sources and their application in Nanotechnology

In the last decade focused ion beams (FIB) became an irrecoverable instrument in research and industry. Sample preparation, local ion implantation and ion analysis are the main application topics. Most of the systems are equipped with a gallium liquid metal ion source (LMIS). But, modern trends in nanotechnology require more extended properties like variable ion species, non-contaminating milling at higher rates or higher lateral resolution in the field of ion microscopy.
In this presentation the assembly and the mode of operation as well as the application of alloy LMIS in mass separated FIB systems are introduced. A brief survey about the history of LMIS is given. The ionization principle and the main parameters, like energy spread or brightness of such a source are discussed. The fabrication technology of different types of alloy LMIS will be presented. Finally examples of application of LMIS in the nano-technology are given.