High current pelletron for ion implantation

Since 1984, when the first production MeV ion implanter (an NEC model MV-T30) went on-line, interest in versatile electrostatic accelerator systems for MeV ion implantation has grown. The systems use a negative ion source to inject a tandem megavolt accelerator. In early systems the 0.4 mA of charging current from the two Pelletron charging chains in the accelerator was sufficient for the low intensity of beams from the ion source. This 2-chain system, however, is no longer adequate for the much higher beam intensities from today's improved ion sources. A 4-chain charging system, which delivers 1.3 mA to the high voltage terminal, was developed and is in operation in new models of NEC S Series Pelletron accelerators. This paper describes the latest beam performance of 1 MV and 1.7 MW Pelletron accelerators with this new 4-chain charging system. (orig.)