Photo-ionization of a laser-cooled and compressed atomic beam from a high-flux thermal source can be used to create a high-brightness ion beam for use in Focus Ion Beam (FIB) instruments. Here we show using calculations and Doppler cooling simulations that an atomic rubidium beam with a brightness of 2.1 × 10 7 A/(m 2 sr eV) at a current of 1 nA can be created using a compact 5 cm long 2D magneto-optical compressor which is more than an order of magnitude better than the current state of the art Liquid Metal Ion Source.

Focused ion beams are indispensable tools in the semiconductor industry because of their ability to image and modify structures at the nanometer length scale. Here we report on performance predictions of a new type of focused ion beam based on photo-ionization of a laser cooled and compressed atomic beam. Particle tracing simulations are performed to investigate the effects of disorder-induced heating after ionization in a large electric field. They lead to a constraint on this electric field strength which is used as input for an analytical model which predicts the minimum attainable spot size as a function of amongst others the flux density of the atomic beam, the temperature of this beam and the total current. At low currents (I < 10 pA) the spot size will be limited by a combination of spherical aberration and brightness, while at higher currents this is a combination of chromatic aberration and brightness. It is expected that a nanometer size spot is possible at a current of 1 pA. The analytical model was verified with particle tracing simulations of a complete focused ion beam setup. A genetic algorithm was used to find the optimum acceleration electric field as a function of the current. At low currents the result agrees well with the analytical model while at higher currents the spot sizes found are even lower due to effects that are not taken into account in the analytical model.

An atomic rubidium beam formed in a 70-mm-long two-dimensional magneto-optical trap (2D MOT), directly loaded from a collimated Knudsen source, is analyzed using laser-induced fluorescence. The longitudinal velocity distribution, the transverse temperature, and the flux of the atomic beam are reported. The equivalent transverse reduced brightness of an ion beam with properties similar to the atomic beam is calculated because the beam is developed to be photoionized and applied in a focused ion beam. In a single two-dimensional magneto-optical trapping step, an equivalent transverse reduced brightness of ð1.0 þ0.8 −0.4 Þ × 10 6 A=ðm 2 sr eVÞ is achieved with a beam flux equivalent to ð0.6 þ0.3 −0.2 Þ nA. The temperature of the beam is further reduced with an optical molasses after the 2D MOT. This optical molasses increases the equivalent brightness to ð6 þ5 −2 Þ × 10 6 A=ðm 2 sr eVÞ. For currents below 10 pA, for which disorder-induced heating can be suppressed, this number is also a good estimate of the ion-beam brightness that can be expected. Such an ion-beam brightness would be a 6× improvement over the liquid-metal ion source and could improve the resolution in focused ion-beam nanofabrication.

In this paper, the design and performance of a collimated Knudsen source, which has the benefit of a simple design over recirculating sources, is discussed. Measurements of the flux, transverse velocity distribution, and brightness of the resulting rubidium beam at different source temperatures were conducted to evaluate the performance. The scaling of the flux and brightness with the source temperature follows the theoretical predictions. The transverse velocity distribution in the transparent operation regime also agrees with the simulated data. The source was tested up to a temperature of 433 K and was able to produce a flux in excess of 1013 s−1.

A two-step photoionization strategy of an ultracold rubidium beam for application in a focused ion beam instrument is analyzed and implemented. In this strategy the atomic beam is partly selected with an aperture after which the transmitted atoms are ionized in the overlap of a tightly cylindrically focused excitation laser beam and an ionization laser beam whose power is enhanced in a build-up cavity. The advantage of this strategy, as compared to without the use of a build-up cavity, is that higher ionization degrees can be reached at higher currents. Optical Bloch equations including the photoionization process are used to calculate what ionization degree and ionization position distribution can be reached. Furthermore, the ionization strategy is tested on an ultracold beam of 85 Rb atoms. The beam current is measured as a function of the excitation and ionization laser beam intensity and the selection aperture size. Although details are different, the global trends of the measurements agree well with the calculation. With a selection aperture diameter of 52 µm, a current of (170 ± 4) pA is measured, which according to calculations is 63% of the current equivalent of the transmitted atomic flux. Taking into account the ionization degree the ion beam peak reduced brightness is estimated at 1 × 10 7 A/(m 2 sr eV).